


The Shortcut Home

by rainforestgeek



Series: Loving Now and Moving On [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Needs a Hug, Adrienette Baby, Arranged Marriage, Autistic Adrien Agreste, Discussion of Abortion, F/M, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting, Identity Reveal, Past Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Unplanned Pregnancy, autistic author, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2020-06-28 00:54:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19801354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainforestgeek/pseuds/rainforestgeek
Summary: Having sex with your best friend regularly was definitely a great idea.Except for the unplanned pregnancy bit. And having a very traditional father. And having a public life that butts its nose into your personal life.Other than all that, totally a great idea.





	1. Chapter 1

“Marinette!” Alya wrapped her roommate in her arms as soon as she came through the door. “Are you okay? Are you still feeling sick?”

Marinette nodded. She’d been having dinner at her parents’ house, but was hardly there for fifteen minutes before she vomited in the kitchen sink. The smells emanating from the dining table had sent her stomach into a mutinous upheaval even though she normally loved her parents’ cooking. They’d wanted her to stay to take care of her, but settled for escorting her back to her and Alya’s apartment. “Just a little nauseous. Did you get my text?”

Alya pulled away and handed her a paper bag. “I got you three just in case. You know I have to grill you about this, right?”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Marinette sighed. “Just please get me something to drink first.”

Ten minutes later, Marinette poured herself her second glass of orange juice while Alya sat frozen on the couch.

“You’ve been sleeping. With Adrien.”

“Yes.”

“Adrien Agreste has been having sex with you. _And you didn’t tell me?_ ”

“We’re not together, Alya.”

“That’s what I don’t get. I never took that boy to be a fuck buddies type.”

Marinette cringed at the term. Yes, she and Adrien were having sex alongside their _platonic_ relationship. But it sounded too crass. Too casual for their close relationship, lack of romance aside.

She got up. “I need to pee.”

“Don’t forget the tests!”

“Okay, but this one says it’s negative?”

Alya rubbed her back. “False negatives happen, Mari. False positives _don’t._ These two are positive you’ve got a mini-Agreste in your belly.”

Marinette groaned and left the bathroom. She flopped face-down onto the couch. “How – ”

“If you say ‘how did this happen’ I’ll smack you with this pillow.”

“Alya, how am I going to tell Adrien?”

Alya sat down, Marinette flipping over to rest her head on her best friend’s lap. Alya stroked her silky black hair contemplatively. “Let’s take this one thing at a time. When was the first day of your last period.”

Marinette counted in her head. “Nine weeks and five days ago.”

“Okay. Do you want to have a baby? Because you have two weeks to decide.”

Marinette’s immediate thought was _yes._ She’d always wanted children and now she had the chance to have _Adrien’s_ child. Her infatuation may have died down over the years, but no matter what, she did love him.

But was she prepared to be a single mother? She and Alya had to share an apartment just to avoid living paycheck to paycheck. Marinette’s savings weren’t impressive, and that’s money she’d been saving to open her own boutique someday. Yes, she wanted kids, but this was risking her dream career. She still had plenty of time to have children.

She peered up at Alya. “I don’t know if I’m ready. Do you think I would make a good mom?”

Alya grinned at her. “Girl, you’d be an _amazing_ mom. Nobody’s ever ready for a baby, that doesn’t mean you’d be a bad parent. But it is your decision and you have no obligation to tell Adrien before you make it.”

“I think I need a few days to think about it. God, I wish I could have some wine.”

“I could drink two glasses tonight if it makes you feel better.”

Marinette laughed. “That actually makes it worse.”

* * *

Nino met his girlfriend at their favorite café. The weather was nice, the sun out and only slightly chilly. He greeted her with a kiss and sat down across from her.

“Babe, I just wanna start out with saying I wasn’t doing anything weird. I accidentally kicked the trash can over.”

“Why would I think that’s weird? It was an accident right?”

“Yes, totally, 100%! So I did not mean to look at anything private, I was just cleaning it up, and…”

Alya touched her boyfriend’s cheek. “Nino, what’s going on?”

“Are you pregnant?” he blurted. Both of their eyes went wide. Nino rushed, “I swear I’m not trying to corner you or anything! I saw a couple positive tests when I was cleaning up the trash in your bathroom, and I couldn’t not tell you that I saw them, so…are you pregnant?”

Alya sighed and looked around the café. She leaned close and lowered her voice. “I’m not pregnant. Now I need you to promise me you’ll keep this under your hat. The tests weren’t mine.”

Nino gasped. Alya dove to put both hands over his mouth, accidentally knocking over a glass of water. “Ugh! Dang it. You don’t say a word or make a sound, okay? Marinette’s not ready to tell anybody yet and I don’t even know if she’s keeping it so you’re sworn to silence.”

Nino helped Alya mop up the water with a pile of napkins. “Of course, I’d never betray her like that. Just gotta, like, process for a minute.”

The waiter came out to take their order, effectively ending the conversation.

* * *

A knock came from the front door. Adrien told Plagg to hide before opening it to reveal a very anxious-looking Marinette. Her eyes darted to and away from his face rapid-fire, and she fiddled with her purse’s shoulder strap. “Marinette? Are you all right?”

“I – ” Her voice broke. She took a shuddering breath. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell you or if I wanted to tell you but I haven’t decided anything yet, I really need to talk to somebody and I _want_ to talk to you – this is big, but I need to talk to you as my friend right now.”

Adrien took her hand and coaxed her inside, closing the door behind her. He pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in his neck, clinging to him tight, so he hitched both arms around her back to bring her as close as possible. He felt like he was absorbing her anxiety like a sponge, making his own blood jitter along with her. “Whatever it is, it’s okay. I’m here for you.”

Marinette lifted her lips to his ear. She murmured two soft words to him.

He froze for a moment. They were still hugging, so hopefully she didn’t notice his shock. Adrien gathered himself, gently untangled their limbs, and held her face to look in her eyes. “Why don’t you go sit down, okay? I’ll make us some tea.”

She nodded. He went to the kitchen and filled up the water heater. While he waited for it to boil, he leaned against the fridge, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do.

Marinette was pregnant. He’d gotten her pregnant. She was probably here to talk about whether or not to stay pregnant. Oh god, his father was going to kill him.

 _Hold your horses there, kid,_ he told himself in a mental voice that sounded alarmingly like Plagg. _Gabriel doesn’t have to know if she decides not to keep it._

Adrien pushed the thought aside. His father didn’t matter right now; he’d burn that bridge when he got to it. Right now, his pregnant friend needed his support.

 _And her tea,_ he realized when he heard the water heater beeping. Adrien prepared and poured two steaming mugs and reminded himself that while he was culpable in creating this situation, Marinette had a lot more at stake here.

When he came back to the living room, Marinette had a ball of yarn out and was crocheting in the round. He was glad she’d brought something to do with her hands. It seemed to help keep her nerves in check. She set the project aside when he handed her the cup and took a sip. Adrien sat down on the couch next to her.

They drank in silence for a minute, neither sure how to broach the subject.

Finally, Adrien gathered his nerve. “So, how long have you known?”

“Four days. I’m about ten weeks along.”

“Okay. You…you said you wanted to talk about it?”

She puffed out a sigh through her teeth. “I’ve been trying to decide if I should keep it or abort it. I tried talking to Alya about it, but she’s so stuck on not influencing my choice that she just refuses to give any advice. But I need to talk _through_ it.”

Adrien drank a hot sip of tea, letting himself think. “Thank you for trusting me. Let’s start with what you’ve been thinking. Feel free to word vomit.”

And word vomit she did. Marinette babbled about her career, her body changing, not being ready to take care of a kid, the money she didn’t have, the fact she wasn’t married – all in no particular order. Her stream of consciousness sentences ran together, making Adrien focus hard on keeping track of what she said.

Once she’d run out of breath, he asked the question she hadn’t addressed at all.

“Do you have any ethical issues with terminating the pregnancy?”

Marinette furrowed her brows. “Do you?”

“That’s not what I asked.” Adrien didn’t love the idea, but he’d thought a lot about what it’d be like to grow a human inside him and then push it out of his ass, so yeah, he figured it was okay to say no to anything or anyone using your body as a house-slash-IV bag.

(Plagg says he’s too morbidly curious for his own good. Plagg doesn’t get to judge, he’s a cat and once caused a mass extinction.)

Marinette looked him straight in the eye. “No, I don’t.”

Adrien chose his next words carefully. “If money and single parenthood are your main concerns, you’re not alone. I’m here, I have a good job, and a trust fund that’s just gathering dust. Only if you want to. Whichever you decide, I’m all in.”

He took her free hand. “We’re a team. I promise.”

The words rang jarringly in both of their ears with a familiarity that didn’t belong in this context.

She smiled at him. “That was quite a speech.”

“Yeah, that came out cornier than I intended. I meant it, though.”

“What are you trying to say, Adrien?”

“I’m saying it’s not a matter of what we _can_ do. It’s about what you _want_ to do. You don’t have to give up your dreams for this.” He gazed at Marinette’s face, wished he could read her better. “Do you feel ready for a kid?”

“I feel scared,” she said quietly.

“Me, too.”

“But I…I think I want to. But only if you commit to being a dad.”

Adrien’s heart pounded. “Like I said, Marinette, I’m all in.”

She nodded and stood, wrapping up her yarn and putting it in her bag. “I don’t think I should decide tonight. I’ll tell you by the end of the day tomorrow.”

He stood as well to see her out. “Good idea. Sleep on it, take your time. I’ll just be here freaking out where you can’t see me.”

Marinette let out a little laugh. Her eyes crinkled adorably. “Thank you, for talking with me. And for the tea.”

“Do you want to stay over?” Adrien wasn’t sure what possessed him to ask that without thinking. Was that inappropriate? Did their relationship change after she got pregnant? Did she think he meant he wanted to have sex? Was it okay to ask your pregnant friend with benefits to sleep over after an emotionally draining conversation? _Okay, come to think of it, that does sound kind of suspect._

“I’m too nauseated to fool around tonight.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t mean you can’t stay over.”

Marinette gave him a long, searching look. He wondered what she was looking for. He wondered if it was there. “I should go back to my apartment. Where my pajamas and toothbrush are. Goodnight, Adrien.”

They both ignored the fact that he kept a toothbrush for her here anyway, and she’d slept in his clothes more than once.

* * *

Plagg was being _insufferable_. “Baker girl’s got a bun in the oven!”

“You’re not funny, Plagg.”

“Screw you, I’m hilarious. It’s not my fault you decided to mix your milk with her eggs.”

Adrien groaned. “You’re really not funny, Plagg.”

* * *

Marinette fiddled with a lock of hair while the dial tone sounded in her ear.

“ _Mari?_ ”

“I’m going to have the baby.” All at once. Ripped off the bandage. Besides, Adrien had to know why she was calling him, and he was surprisingly okay with when she cut past the pleasantries.

There was a pause. “ _Okay. I should tell my father soon.”_

“My parents, too. Maybe we should have those conversations alone, so my mom and dad don’t grill you about not being in a relationship.

“ _Am I a dead man?_ ”

“I’ll throw my body in front of yours. It’ll be better than a bullet-proof vest.”

“ _Is it too much to ask you to tell my father with me? I know he’ll stay calm, just…_ ”

“Cold,” Marinette finished. She should’ve known Adrien would want emotional support when he told his dad he was about to become a young, unmarried parent. “Of course I can. Just tell me when.”

“ _Thanks. Have you gotten a doctor’s appointment yet?_ ”

Marinette rolled her eyes. She was looking at six to seven more months of this fretting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my understanding, it is legal in France to get an abortion up until the 12 week mark.  
> Any and all pro-life comments will be deleted. I’m trying to tell a story and won’t engage in debate.  
> Adrien DOES know that babies don’t come out of buttholes.  
> Pregnancy tests work by detecting levels of HCG in your urine or blood, which is a hormone normally only present during pregnancy. False positives rarely ever happen because the tests can't detect a hormone that isn't there. IF a false positive happens then it’s indicative of a major health issue such as ovarian cancer.


	2. Chapter 2

_It was late. Nino and Alya had gone out to dinner and dancing to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and booked a hotel room for the night, leaving their roommates to their own devices. Naturally Marinette and Adrien gravitated toward each other, away from their empty apartments._

_They were nearing the bottom of the wine bottle, relaxed on Adrien’s couch while a slap-stick comedy film played in the background._

_“Are you watching anymore?” Marinette asked._

_“I’ve long since tuned out.”_

_She turned off the television. “I hope Alya and Nino are having a nice time, but I’m sick of Valentine’s day.”_

_“Is it because of Luka?” Adrien flushed. “God, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”_

_"It's okay." Marinette sipped her wine, savoring the taste before responding. “He always went all out for the holiday. Every February he was at his most romantic. Last year without Luka was hell, but now it just feels…sad and stale.”_

_Adrien hummed thoughtfully. “That makes sense, after you were together for so long. I actually thought you two were going to get married. The high school sweethearts who made it.”_

_“So did I.” Marinette gazed into her glass of wine so she wouldn’t have to look at Adrien._

_“He shouldn’t have broken your heart. Not after you spent so many years together, it isn’t fair.”_

_“It wasn’t Luka’s fault. We just…we loved each other too much to stay together."_

_Adrien gave her a puzzled look. “I don’t understand.”_

_Marinette sighed. “After Kitty Section got signed, he couldn’t stay in Paris. I couldn’t ask him not to go to America because it would’ve robbed him and Rose and Juleka and Ivan of the opportunity of a lifetime. And I wouldn’t be happy leaving Paris, either. My career, my friends, my family are all here. Our futures were…are incompatible.”_

_Adrien stayed silent for a while. They drank their wine. Adrien refilled her glass once it’d emptied._

_“I’m so sorry, Marinette,” he said finally. “It must be painful.”_

_"Less so now than it used to be. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve wasted ten years of my life. If Luka and I weren’t meant to be, then what was the point of all that time?”_

_“Hey.” Adrien startled her by moving closer and touching her hand. “Did you love him?”_

_“Where is this going, Adrien?”_

_“Did you love Luka?”_

_“Yes, of course I did.”_

_“Were you happy?”_

_She nodded, gazing hard into his eyes. All this time since they'd met and she still had trouble reading him. “Very.”_

_He reached up to touch her face, stroked her cheek gently with his thumb. “Then it was not a waste. It mattered. Breaking up doesn’t change that.”_

_Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was feeling his body heat on her face and smelling the sweet wine on his breath. Maybe it was how safe he made her feel. Maybe it was the way he touched her like she was precious. Maybe she was too damn frustrated after a year and a half of celibacy._

_Maybe it was a combination of all those things that made Marinette lean in and brush her lips against Adrien’s._

* * *

“You know,” Alya said slyly. “If you and Marinette decide to move in together, we already have two flats between the four of us. Nino and I have been talking about getting our own place for a while. So, you two could take one, and we’ll take the other.”

Adrien heroically avoided choking on his coffee. He and Alya were out shopping for presents for Nino’s birthday. He wasn’t working until the late afternoon and Alya took a personal day, so she’d talked him into spending the morning together. “I appreciate the offer, Alya, but that’s kind of jumping the gun. Marinette and I still have a lot to talk about and we haven’t even touched living logistics yet.”

“Oh my GOD, Adrien!” A shrill but familiar voice poked his ears. He turned around to see Chloe Bourgeois trotting towards them, a pristine white shopping back in hand. She threw her free arm around Adrien’s neck once she reached him. “It’s been too long!”

“Chloe! I didn’t know you were back from New York.”

“Mother and I have business in Paris. And of course I missed dear old daddy, I just had to see him again.”

Alya made exaggerated blabbing motions with her hands behind Chloe’s back and Adrien had physically bite his tongue to keep from laughing.

“So. I heard the most ridiculous rumor through the grapevine. According to Sabrina, Marinette Dupain-Cheng girl is having _your_ baby! Can you believe that? Rumors like that could cause a scandal!”

“Sabrina told you that? Where did she hear it?”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “Why aren’t you more upset? Somebody is spreading vicious lies about you! What if the tabloids got wind of it?”

“Chlo, they’re not…well, it’s not a lie.”

“…What.”

“Marinette and I are expecting a baby. She’s due next March.”

Chloe’s mouth gaped open like a koi waiting for tourists to toss it food. Adrien fidgeted with the strap of his messenger bag and avoided her sharp blue eyes, waiting for whatever melodrama she had in for him now. She and Marinette didn’t get along, to put it lightly. It’d taken a long time before Marinette confided in him the extent of Chloe’s bullying before they’d met. He couldn’t imagine it was that bad until Nino told him under no uncertain terms that Marinette didn’t used to stand up for herself, so instead of fighting it had just been one-sided picking for years.

Adrien didn’t relish expecting Chloe’s response to her childhood friend having a kid with her long-time enemy. He should have expected the nastiness that came next.

“You _slept_ with _Dupain-Cheng?_ ”

“Well, that’s generally how pregnancy starts, so – ”

“I should have known that minx would try to trap you like this!” Chloe leaned in and gripped his collar. “And all because of a foolish one night stand!”

“Well, actually – ” Adrien began to correct, but Chloe was on a roll.

“It’s utterly atrocious! Adrikins, you don’t have to give her anything just because you made one mistake. That gold-digger has no right to you.”

Adrien went very quiet.

He’d always known Chloe was shallow and mean. But this…

“You’re just jealous because it wasn’t you that Adrien got pregnant,” Alya accused.

“Alya!” Adrien admonished. She sounded like she was enjoying Chloe’s freak-out way too much.

Chloe scoffed. “Jealous? Moi? I’m not stupid enough to get knocked up out of wedlock. No baby of mine would ever be a born a bastard.”

“Chloe! That’s enough!” Both women recoiled at the venom in Adrien’s words. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath to get a hold of himself. His next words were calm, but his eyes were still fierce. “Marinette is my family, now. If you can’t get on board with that then we’re no longer friends.”

“But Adrien – ”

“No. You’re being cruel and judgmental and I’m finished putting up with your elitist attitude. I’m not an isolated child anymore, I don’t need you in my life. So if you want to be, then get to proving you deserve it.”

Before she could say anything in response, Alya got in her face. “One more thing, Bourgeois. If you ever call my girl a gold-digger again, or if I catch even the faintest breeze of you calling her baby a mistake, I will make your life twice as miserable as you made hers for the next decade. Got it?”

Chloe just stood there in shock. Alya seemed to take that as an acquiescence, because she turned and pulled Adrien by the wrist in the opposite direction.

Adrien tried not to let Chloe’s words get to him but they echoed in his ears incessantly. _Mistake. Bastard. Mistake. Bastard. Scandal. Gold-digger. Mistake._

Alya nudged him. “She’s living in the wrong millennium. There’s nothing wrong with what you two are doing. Who cares if you don’t fit her picture-perfect idea of a family?”

“I didn’t even think about a scandal. My father will never forgive me for giving the Agreste name a public black eye like having a baby with someone I’m not even dating.” He sighed deeply and sat down on a bench they passed by. Reality seemed to swim. He drummed his fingertips on his forehead, trying to calm down.

He didn’t realize Alya had joined him until she spoke again. “What do you think he’ll do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well whatever happens you should be confident that you’re a good guy here. It’s not like you got drunk and hooked up with random fan. You and Marinette trust each other. You two will be more than fine, no matter what Chloe or your father or any dumb magazines think.”

Adrien kept tapping his fingers. His breathing slowed. He wiggled all of his limbs to regain his sense of space. He smiled at Alya. “Thank you. We should hang out more often.”

She snorted. “Once that baby comes, you won’t be able to get rid of me ever.”

* * *

“Of course we want to see you, honey! Is everything okay? Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, Mom. There’s just something I want to tell you guys and it’s better in person.” Marinette tried to keep her voice level for her parents’ sake as she paced back and forth in her small kitchen. Logically, she knew her parents would be thrilled to hear about a future grandchild whether there was a father/husband in the picture or not. They were cool like that. It didn’t assuage the acidic butterflies trying to start a hurricane in her stomach.

“Let’s have dinner and make up for last week when you were sick. Is there anything you want to eat?”

Nausea tickled the back of her throat. “Um I think I’m working late so I’ll just come over after dinner and spend the evening with you guys.”

“I’ll get dad to make your favorite macarons. We’ll see you tonight, Marinette. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Marinette hung up with a smile on her face.

Tikki floated in front of her. “That sounded good.”

“I didn’t tell them yet.”

“I know, but you shouldn’t worry Marinette. Everything’s going to be fine.”

All her adult life, it’d never felt weird to go back to her childhood home. The bakery was _home._ It didn’t matter how old she got. Yet Marinette pushed open the front doors feeling queasy and try as she might to convince herself it was morning sickness, she knew she felt nervous to face her parents.

Marinette sat on the couch. “Mom, Dad, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Sweetheart, you’re fidgeting. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong! Well, not _really_ …I mean, it’s certainly a surprise and not intentional and it’ll make life harder but…I lost my train of thought…Um, despite all that it’s not a _bad_ thing – ”

“Marinette.”

“I’m pregnant.” She swallowed and her palms sweated. “I’m about eleven weeks pregnant. And I’m not dating the father.”

An agonizing silence rolled out before her. Her parents’ faces melted from one shocked and confused expression to the next. She discreetly slipped her hand in her purse to feel Tikki nuzzle against her, and glean some comfort from her.

Finally her mom spoke. “Are you planning to…?”

“Right, yes, I’m going to have the baby.”

“Do we know the father?” her dad asked.

Fire licked up Marinette’s neck to her cheeks. “Adrien. It’s Adrien.”

“But you two are not together?” That seemed to befuddle her dad most of all.

Marinette’s eye ducts tingled in preparation for the angry tears she was determined to keep dammed up. “I know it’s unorthodox, and I know this isn’t very traditional. I just…” she felt her voice get small. “I just want you to love your grandkid, no matter what the circumstances of their birth may be.”

Her parents swooped forward immediately, her dad crushing her in a bear hug while her mom planted kisses all over her face. “That’s not it, I swear. Marinette, this is _wonderful._ You’re so good with kids that I’m sure you’ll be a great mother.”

“Do I need to have a _talk_ with Adrien?” her dad asked into her hair.

Marinette cringed. “Please don’t. I trust him, Dad.”

He promised, and Marinette sunk into the comfortable familiarity while her parents asked her questions, dispensed advice, stuffed her full of cookies, and swore to shower her future baby with all the gifts they could afford. She reminded them it’d be a few years before the child could play video games. Her mom cheekily said that _someone_ had to learn to beat Marinette.

Marinette felt eternally grateful for her affectionate and supportive parents. She and Adrien weren’t going to tell his father for a couple more weeks, since Adrien had to actually make an appointment and “that was his next available slot.” She had no idea what to expect when it finally happened. Her heart ached for her friend with a dead mother and father so distant that Adrien was actually a little scared of him. It was hard not to feel guilty about the family she’d lucked out with.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter, but I wanted this posted.

“Wait, _what?_ How did Sabrina find out?”

Adrien looked from Marinette to Alya. Under the scrutiny of both her best friend and her best friend’s baby daddy, she felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She resisted the urge to shrink into the couch. They’d just filled Marinette in on what happened that afternoon.

“I want to know that, too. You and Nino are the only ones we’ve told so far,” Adrien said.

She took a deep breath. “Okay, so, I have a theory and I need you to bear with me. Nino and I were on a date last week – I know, I promise it’s relevant – and he asked me if _I_ was pregnant. He accidentally spotted the positive tests in our bathroom. I couldn’t lie to him so he put two and two together.”

Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed. “So he already knew before Adrien told him?”

“Yeah, so, I think Sabrina must’ve overheard us talking at the café. I’m so, so sorry Marinette, I promise it was an accident!”

Marinette scooted over, gave her friend a hug and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about it, Alya. I know you’d never blab about this on purpose.”

“But that doesn’t explain how Sabrina knew the baby’s mine,” Adrien put in. “Did you tell him that?”

“Uhhhh…this is where it gets awkward.”

_Alya looked at her boyfriend curiously. “Why haven’t you asked who the father is?” She asked quietly._

_“I kinda assumed it’s Adrien. Is it not Adrien? Man if it’s not then that’s gonna be super awkward.”_

_Alya dropped her spoon. “Wait, you knew they’ve been hooking up?”_

_Nino raised his hands in a half surrender, half placating gesture. “I just keep ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time, okay? I came home one night and I heard like moaning and stuff coming from Adrien’s bedroom. It’s not my fault they left Marinette’s clothes and shoes all over the living room.”_

_“And you didn’t_ tell _me?”_

_He reached out to clasp their hands together on the table. “Babe, I love you, but my man hates gossip. Obviously I wasn’t supposed to find out so I had to act like I didn’t. Would you have wanted to hear about this from anybody except Marinette?”_

_“I suppose not,” Alya sighed. She leaned forward and kissed Nino. “You’re a true gentleman, you know.”_

_His face flushed. “If my lady says so.”_

Alya had never seen her friends’ faces such deep shades of red before. They looked like they were going to burst into flames.

Marinette stood suddenly. “On an unrelated note, I need to throw up now. Don’t follow me,” she told Adrien, then darted to the bathroom.

Adrien glanced at Alya then returned his gaze to the middle distance. “I have no idea how to react.”

“You have the world’s best roommate and I have the world’s best boyfriend,” Alya told him. “I hope Mari’s parents took it well.”

Adrien leaned back into his chair and dug the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. “Nnngh, me too. Tom Dupain-Cheng could break me in half, no sweat, and I want to live to see my kid.” He’d never quite expunged the Papa Garou incident from his mind. It hardly mattered he didn’t know Adrien was Chat Noir, he’d knocked up his daughter and the man was plenty protective and intimidating without an akuma.

Alya rolled her eyes. “No, he wouldn’t.”

“We’ll see.”

Marinette came back to the living room looking pale. Adrien stretched an arm out and she nestled in next to him. He absently played with her hair.

 _Who the hell do they think they’re kidding?_ Alya thought. “How did it go with your parents today?”

“They’re really excited.” She craned her head to look at Adrien. “And my dad promised not to chew you out.”

“What about bodily harm?”

“You’re fine, Adrien.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How it started, and what happens when they tell Gabriel.

_Marinette woke slowly, reality filtering into her mind like sunlight as it rose. It was hot. Her body felt like it was being roasted. With a little groan she moved to get more comfortable and realized she wasn’t alone in the bed when she met resistance. Half her body had someone else’s naked skin pressed flush against hers, from her shoulder to her waist to her feet. A lean arm encircled her back, palm gently cradling her tricep. Hot breaths puffed against her neck where her partner’s head was nuzzling into her. She blinked away the sleep fog. She saw messy blonde hair, and for a split second she thought she’d somehow fallen into bed with Chat Noir._

_Then the memories came back from last night. Careful touches, sweet kisses, whispered questions in her ear. Strong hands, smooth skin, soft hair, and even softer lips. Even while the memories made Marinette relax in Adrien’s grasp, her heart thundered in her chest._

_If she told thirteen-year-old Marinette where she was right now, her younger self would scream then probably pass out._

_Adrien stirred. Marinette carefully sat up, dislodging his arm, and stretched with a satisfied groan. He rolled over, rubbing his eyes. She pulled his fluffy comforter more completely on top of their bodies and snuggled back up to him._

_“What happened last night?” Adrien muttered._

_She laughed. “Don’t tell me I have to explain to you what sex is after we just had it.”_

_“No, I mean - ” he stopped. “I don’t know what I mean.”_

_Marinette would ordinarily feel bad for laughing at his expense, but she felt too much like the embodiment of sunshine this morning to care. She contented herself with absorbing his body heat through her cheek. “Last night was so good. It’s been way too long since I got to do that.”_

_Adrien looked at her with serious eyes. “Do you want to have sex with me again?”_

_“Right now, or in general?”_

_“Both.”_

_She was still high on endorphins and dopamine and sexual relief. She crawled over him to kiss his lips. “Yes to both.”_

* * *

Adrien tried not to be nervous. He failed.

He pulled up to the gates of the familiar mansion, Marinette crocheting in the passenger seat. He hesitated before getting out of the car. She looked up at him.

“Are you okay?”

He shook his head.

“Are you worried about his reaction?”

His voice wasn’t working. He nodded.

There was a several second long pause. “Do you think...he’ll be disappointed that it’s me?”

“No.” _Oh hey, the words are back._ Adrien realized it came out more forcefully than he’d intended. His leg was bouncing and he took her hand and squeezed it. “My father likes you, Marinette. He’s just traditional. And we’re not…”

“Not together,” she finished. She squeezed back. “I can’t promise you anything, Adrien, but we’re a team, remember? I’ve got you even on the off chance the worst happens.”

Adrien thought there was more than an _off_ chance the worst would happen, but he appreciated her support. He gave her a small smile and got out of the car.

* * *

_“Isn’t this backsliding, Tikki?”_

_“Backsliding?”_

_“You know. Getting dumped then rebounding onto old flames.”_

_“Well does this really count? You weren’t with Adrien before Luka.”_

_“But I liked him! Ugh, I don’t want to ruin what we already have. I_ love _being Adrien’s friend. I don’t know if I’m over Luka!”_

_“It’s okay if you’re not, Marinette. Trust your instincts.”_

_Marinette wasn’t sure if that was the best idea in this situation. Her instincts all really wanted to get laid._

* * *

Inside, Nathalie directed them to his father’s office. Gabriel was sitting behind his desk looking far more like a boss giving a performance review than a father meeting with his son. The contrast would never had occurred to Adrien before he’d spent time with his friends’ parents. The first time Nino’s dad squeezed his shoulder, or the first time Marinette’s mom stroked his cheek, had startled him so bad his brain had skidded to a complete stop.

“Good morning, father.”

“Adrien. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I trust you have some important news to tell me.” Gabriel’s face was unreadable. Well, more unreadable than usual.

Marinette jolted. “How - ”

“I had a rather alarming visit from Mlle. Bourgeois yesterday,” he interrupted. “However, knowing her, I suspect that the more ludicrous details were exaggerated. So, what is it you have to tell me?”

That was just vague enough to be nerve-wracking. Adrien breathed in, then out, and said, “Marinette and I are going to have a baby. That’s pretty much all there is to it.”

“I see. When are you due?” he asked.

Marinette answered this time. “March 14th, sir.”

“A little less than six months from now. Well, I owe you both congratulations. Younger than I expected, but I’m pleased my grandchild will have a mother as responsible and resourceful as yourself.”

Relief washed through Adrien’s system. Coming from his father that may as well be the signature of approval on a binding contract. Beside him, Marinette said, “Thank you, sir.” She nudged Adrien lightly, and he looked to see her grinning at him. He couldn’t help but return it.

“Unfortunately, there are some housekeeping matters we must go over.” _Ugh._ He should’ve known his father wasn’t done. “As inconvenient as it may be, this family is in the public eye. It would be wise if you planned to get married as soon as possible for the sake of your reputations and careers.”

“Father!” Adrien burst out. He wasn’t _certain_ , but he felt pretty damn sure that ‘it would be wise’ was Gabriel for ‘I’m ordering you to.’ “You can’t force Marinette into a shotgun wedding.”

“There’s no need to be upset. I assure you there are far worse things to happen to a couple than marriage.”

“But we’re not even dating!”

Silence reigned for several minutes. Adrien stared at the floor, clenched his fists, rolled back and forth on his heels, and chewed his tongue nervously. “I’m surprised at you, Adrien. That is, however, inconsequential. A scandal will open up you and Marinette to public scorn. The press is more forgiving to young lovers who married after learning they were expecting than to whatever really led to this unplanned pregnancy.”

“But - ”

Gabriel stood to walk around the desk and place both hands on his son’s shoulders, effectively shutting him up. “I do not ask this of you lightly. Once this goes public, _and it will_ , you will both be judged harshly. I cannot allow that to happen and you to get hurt.”

“You’re just worried that if it got out your son was a single father, your company would be ruined,” Adrien responded icily.

“Trust me as a father, Adrien, this is your best option.”

Adrien didn’t respond, just turned away and stalked out of the room. He burst outside, the sun too bright, the breeze too cold, the traffic too loud, too much, too much, too much.

A soft voice spoke in his ear. “Adrien.”

He whirled around and clung to Marinette, who in turn wrapped her arms tightly around him. Frustrated tears leaked out of his eyes onto her shoulder. He didn’t mean to scream, but god there was too much crap built up inside him and he needed it _out._

Five minutes or maybe an hour later he calmed with deep, shuddering breaths. Adrien realized they’d sunk onto the bottom step in front of his father’s house. The stone felt hot against his knees. Apparently neither Father nor Nathalie had come outside and he’d never been more grateful to have them at a distance while he melted down.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured the words into Marinette’s neck.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

* * *

_“Mari, what’s wrong?”_

_Marinette had come into Adrien's apartment, sealed their lips together, pushed him onto the couch, kissed him senseless, and taken off his shirt. Now she straddled his lap fiddling nervously with the fabric in her hands._

_“I don’t want our relationship to get weird.”_

_Adrien rubbed her shoulders. "Then we won’t let it.”_

_“Can it really be as simple as that?”_

_“I think so. We just have to be honest and keep trusting each other.”_

_“Okay. Okay." She laced her fingers at the back of his neck. "I want to keep being friends and I want to keep sleeping with you. If that’s what you want, too.”_

_“Then consider us on the same page.” Adrien had no words or understanding about what he felt. But what Marinette said sounded about right._


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette got a call as she left from a fitting with Jagged Stone. Until she could get her name established in the fashion world enough to start her own line, the rock star had hired her as his personal designer and stylist, and they’d just finished putting the final touches on his new album cover art.

The caller ID said “Agreste Home.” She frowned and picked up. “Nathalie?”

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, this is Adrien’s father.”

“Mssr. Agreste? Um, Adrien’s not with me right now.”

“I called you specifically for a reason. You’re a sensible young lady.”

“Thank you.” Marinette thought she might know where this was going. “Sir, Adrien doesn’t want to marry me. I don’t think I could talk him out of his decision.”

“Minds can be changed once they’ve seen reason. You understand the sense behind the two of you marrying, do you not?”

“I suppose…In a way.” Marinette really didn’t want to get on his bad side. “But he seems adamant.”

She heard a deep sigh from the other end of the line. “I had hoped the tantrum he’s throwing would have died down by now. He needs to come to his senses.”

Hot acid burned Marinette’s throat at the word _tantrum_. She was beginning to think Adrien had all the empathy that his father didn’t. It was only the knowledge that Gabriel Agreste could ruin her career that made her bite her tongue against the sharp words on her lips.

Fuming, Marinette stroked her growing belly. She hasn’t felt them move at all yet – probably wouldn’t for a few more weeks – but thinking about the baby has helped calm her down more than once. _God help you and your grandfather, child._

“I want to protect Adrien as much as you do, sir. But if he believes he can handle the publicity repercussions, then I trust him.”

“People are cruel, Marinette.” Marinette startled at the informal address. “Especially when it comes to public opinion. I know that better than most. It isn’t fair, but the press will smear your name and his. Can I be honest with you, parent to future-parent?”

Marinette nodded. Then realized that he couldn’t see her. “Yes, of course.”

“This isn’t about saving face, no matter what Adrien may think of me. I’m afraid for you both. I fear Adrien will be labeled a deadbeat, I fear that you will be slut-shamed, or worse. I want my grandchild to grow up having never been touched by public scorn.”

She couldn’t deny there was some sense to what he was saying. She wanted to believe people were more understanding nowadays, but from her experience with Ladybug’s celebrity status, she also knew the masses were harsher than ever.

The whole idea was so medieval. “Is there anything else you wish to talk with me about, sir?”

“I’ve been following your work since your school days, Mlle.” _Uh, okay. That took a turn._ “I’m especially impressed with your work for Jagged Stone. It requires a deft eye to balance cutting-edge style with class the way you have. This call is also to offer you a job as an associate designer at the Gabriel brand.”

Marinette’s heart stopped. All her blood rushed to her face. Squeaky brakes screamed shrill in her ears.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes! I mean, yes, I’m still on the line.” Her voice had jumped half an octave in pitch, so Marinette covered the receiver and cleared her throat. “I’m honored by the offer. May I take a few days to decide?”

“Do not take too long. Good day, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.” Gabriel Agreste hung up. Marinette immediately shrieked, earning quite a few concerned and dirty looks from people on the street.

* * *

Marinette met Adrien for lunch in a nearby park. He'd put together a picnic for them to share (it turned out once someone taught him, Adrien was a natural in the kitchen).

She wiped her hands when she finished eating, contemplating how to bring up her conversation with Mssr. Agreste. Adrien was still irritated with his father and she didn't want to sour the pleasant mood, but also, they should talk about it.

“So," she began cautiously, "I got a call from your dad today.”

Adrien ran a hand over his face. “Ugh. I’m sorry, Marinette, it’s not cool of him to do that just because I’m not answering his calls.”

“That was part of it. He did want to convince me that you and I should get married.”

Adrien pulled out his phone. “That’s it, if he wants to talk to me so badly, I’m going to give him a piece – ”

Marinette placed a hand over the screen. “Stop. Talking to him angry won’t make things better. And that’s not all: he offered me a job.”

“He did?”

“Yeah, as an associate designer.”

“Wow, Marinette, that’s big!”

She fiddled with her purse strap. “Isn’t it a little too big?”

“What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t this count as nepotism? Or a kind of bribe.”

“My father is a lot of things, but he gives credit where credit is due. The pregnancy might have precipitated him offering you a position, or maybe he was already considering it. Either way, he would never have done so if he didn’t think you were qualified.”

“I’d hope so.” She paused. “Adrien, I don’t want to speak ill of your father to you but I have a suspicion.”

“Okay.”

“I can’t help but think this is his way of keeping control. We’d both be working for him.”

Adrien frowned. Given how he grew up, let alone that he was _still_ modeling for Gabriel, that made a lot of sense. “It’s still your decision. If you’re not comfortable taking the job, I get it; but also don’t not further your career because of personal complications with my father. He probably thinks he’s doing what’s best for us.”

“That’s a bit presumptuous.”

“Yeah but it means he cares. He’s a provider, not a nurturer, it’s all he knows how to do.”

“I’ll definitely think about it.”

“But back to the whole marriage thing. What did he say to you?”

Marinette heaved a deep sigh. “Like you said, he’s trying to help in his own way. I think he’s honestly concerned for us. Like it or not, public images have power.”

“The public’s not entitled to a wedding, though. And neither is my father. I’m done with him trying to control me; he gets no say in what I do in my personal life.”

He looked so cute with that mixed grumpy indignance on his face Marinette couldn’t help but smile. “I agree.”


	6. Chapter 6

Ladybug waited at the top of the Eiffel Tower for Chat Noir for patrol. She’d decided to tell him tonight.

Marinette had asked Tikki how Chat Noir could possibly have not noticed she was pregnant - sure, the bump was hideable with civilian clothes, but the suit was skin-tight! None of the public had caught on either, even the meticulous Ladyblogger. Tikki’d explained the suit’s magic warped how people saw her. Even if her belly did get bigger and people saw it, for a while no one would register its presence or what it implied. It was the same principle of how no one recognized her face even though the mask did nothing to hide her bone structure.

However, the magic had limits and so did her body. Tikki could compensate for the baby interfering with Ladybug’s range of motion for now, but she wouldn’t be able to keep her pregnancy secret once the baby got too big.

Hawk Moth stopped sending out akumas a few years ago. But whoever he was, he still had the butterfly miraculous and Nooroo kept captive. There was no telling when he might become active again. And if that happened while Ladybug was out of commission…

Chat Noir needed to know. And after this, she had to convince Master Fu to let her tell Adrien. It was hard enough to hide her identity from her parents. She couldn’t, in good conscience, keep a secret so big from her baby’s father, too. 

Ladybug heard a soft landing behind her. “Evening, Bugaboo.”

“Hey, Kitty.”

“Ready to bounce around some rooftops?” Chat Noir extended his baton, getting ready to vault off the building. Ladybug stopped him with a hand on his bicep.

“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“If you’re about to profess your undying love for me, I’m afraid I’ve quite moved on, M’lady. Not that I’d ever blame you for falling for a tomcat.”

“Chat Noir, this is important.”

“Do we have a lead on Hawk Moth?”

“Unfortunately no. I’m pregnant.”

He stared at her with big dopey eyes, taking some time to process. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Or husband?”

Ladybug laughed nervously. “Nope, not married,” she obfuscated.

He shook his head. “Wow.”

“Wow?”

“It feels like everyone around me is having babies right now. A couple of my co-workers are on maternity leave. One of my friends is expecting, too.”

“I guess we’re at that age. I’m just worried about Hawk Moth.”

“That’s a good thing to worry about in general but why specifically?”

“I won’t be able to fight with you in a couple months. My kwami’s been protecting the baby so far, but there’s only so much she can do eventually.”

Chat Noir’s eyebrows furrowed. “And if Hawk Moth resurfaces while you’re gone...oh, God.”

“Exactly. I’ve been thinking that maybe someone should step in as Ladybug temporarily.”

“You have someone in mind?”

“I want to give the miraculous to Rena Rouge but I’ll need to talk to Master Fu first.”

“You know Rena Rouge in real life right?”

“Yeah. I trust her.”

“What if Master Fu makes her the new Ladybug because you’re on maternity leave, and she puts two and two together and figures out who you are?”

Marinette hadn’t thought of that. She sighed. “We might have to take that risk. Chat Noir, you have to promise me you’ll protect her like you protect me.”

“Of course, my lady.”

“There’s one other thing.” She wrung her hands. She didn’t know how Chat Noir would react to this idea. He’s never been fond of keeping their secret identities from each other and this may just add salt to the wound. “Out of necessity, I think I’ll need to tell the father that I’m Ladybug.”

He looked shocked. “It’s too dangerous, LB! What if he gets akumatized?”

“He should know where I’m disappearing to! I can’t let him think I’m randomly abandoning my kid and he should understand the stakes here.”

Chat Noir went very quiet. Ladybug looked over at him and noticed his face had gone very pale.

“Chat Noir? Are you mad?”

“No. No, Ladybug, I...I understand. Better than you might think.” He gave her a smile, but it was a weak echo of his regular confident smirk. He stood up and spun out his baton. “There’s something I should also talk to Master Fu about, though.”

“What’s going on?”

He winked. “It’s a secret.” With that cryptic response he leapt off the Eiffel Tower and vaulted over the city skyline.

Ladybug couldn’t help but feel miffed. She’d been as honest as she possibly could with her partner tonight; why couldn’t he extend the same courtesy? Didn’t he trust her? She felt tears well up in her eyes and glared down at her stomach. _Curse you, hormones._

Looked like she was doing patrol on her own tonight.

* * *

Adrien de-transformed in the alley beside Master Fu’s flat. Plagg snatched some Camembert from his shirt pocket and downed it in a single gulp. “Dang. Babies left and right. Think Miss Ladyblogger is next?”

“Don’t even joke about that, Plagg. Nino would cry for a week.” Adrien went inside and got in the elevator. His head spun the whole ride up.

“Kid, if you chew any harder on your hand you’ll lose all your fingers.”

“Bite me.” The doors dinged open. “Hide, Plagg.”

Master Fu called him in seconds after he knocked on the door. “Ah, Adrien. What can I do for you?”

“Master Fu.” Adrien took a seat in front of the guardian. “I was talking to Ladybug, and she said something that made me think.”

“What are you worried about?”

“I’m kind of...expecting a baby?”

A huge smile broke across Fu’s face. “Oh congratulations!”

“Let him finish,” Plagg said through a mouthful of cheese.

Adrien tapped his knee nervously. “Anyways, I realized that it’s going to be really hard being Chat Noir and a father at the same time. Especially if Hawk Moth shows himself again. I think it’s important that I tell my - the baby’s mom.”

Fu said nothing for several moments. Adrien couldn’t make himself meet his eyes.

Finally he spoke, “Revealing your identity, to anyone, could endanger her and your child. No one in Paris is safe from Hawk Moth, but your family may become specific targets if he ever finds out who you are.”

“But, but if I tell her then she’ll know how important it is not to get akumatized! And I need her to trust me if I’m going to be a good father. She won’t if I’m disappearing for patrols and akuma attacks with bad explanations.”

“I take it you trust her?”

“Other than Ladybug, more than anyone.”

“You’re right, in that knowledge may be power in this case. Although I urge you not to make any rash decisions. Sleep on this for a few nights then come speak with me again. It is very important that you’re careful about this.”

Adrien figured that was as far as he was going to get tonight, and he _was_ feeling tired and strung-out. Better to think about telling Marinette his identity for a while, make sure it was the right choice. He bowed his head and stood to leave. “Thank you, Master Fu. Have a good night.”

“You as well, Adrien.”

* * *

The next day found Fu graced with the presence another visitor.

“Good morning, Marinette. What brings you by today?”

“I have a couple things to talk to you about, Master Fu.” Marinette hesitantly came in, Tikki trailing behind her.

He raised an eyebrow at her, amused. “Please, have a seat. What is on your mind?”

“Well, I’m essentially going to need a...maternity leave from being Ladybug soon.”

Fu’s eyes flicked to her abdomen, where Tikki had taken to hovering. Her bump was barely visible, but only if you were looking for it. “Indeed, carrying a baby complicates superhero work. Why haven’t you come to me about this sooner?”

“Master,” Tikki spoke up. “I am able to protect both of them when she’s transformed at the moment. The suit shields them from view and damage. But in one or two months there won’t be much I can do anymore.”

“It’s still very dangerous, Tikki. That must be draining your power immensely and no matter what you do, it still puts stress on Marinette’s body.”

Marinette realized Tikki _had_ been eating way more cookies than usual lately. She’d also developed a taste for cheese danishes, which she thought was odd.

“I understand this will be very difficult - God knows I struggle letting go of Wayzz - but you should pass on the ladybug miraculous for the time being.”

The words sucker-punched Marinette in the gut. Tikki let out a little gasp and flew up to hug her cheek. It was one thing to think, theoretically, in the future, to temporarily give up her miraculous. But she was unprepared for the thought of being separated from Tikki _now_.

Marinette stared sadly at the floor. “That’s what I came here to suggest. Just...so soon?”

“You shouldn’t be fighting while you’re pregnant, Marinette. It’s never happened to a Ladybug, but I have seen miraculous holders lose their babies before.”

“Tikki?”

Tikki’s huge eyes had gone shiny and ever bigger with contrition. “I’m sorry, Marinette. I didn’t know. I really thought I could protect you both.”

“You said a Ladybug has never miscarried before. Tikki’s the kwami of creation,” Marinette said. “Doesn’t that mean she has more power over this than other kwamis?”

Master Fu put a hand on her shoulder. “Possibly. But I do not want to risk that. Do you?”

Marinette looked at Tikki sitting in her hands. An understanding passed between them. She kissed her kwami’s tiny head. “I’m going to miss you, Tikki.”

She hugged her cheek again. “I’ll miss you too, Marinette.”

Marinette blinked back tears. “I know who I want to give the earrings to, Master Fu. Alya Cesaire, Rena Rouge.”

Fu nodded. “A wise choice. She has proven herself a worthy hero.”

“Before I give you the earrings back, I want to talk to Chat Noir one more time. I don’t want to disappear without saying goodbye.”

Fu looked like he was going to object, but Tikki flew up to his face with crossed arms in an unusual display of blatant defiance. After a brief stare-off, he conceded. “Very well.”

* * *

Adrien got an alert from the Ladyblog on his phone. He may not be a pining, lovestruck fool obsessively stalking the blog anymore, but Alya knew if her friends didn’t read her posts. He swiped it open.

The headline read: _LOOK WHO SWUNG BY MY WINDOW, FAM!_ Underneath it was a picture of Ladybug in all her spotted glory perched on a building he recognized as the one beside their apartment building.

_What’s Ladybug doing out?_

Adrien found Plagg in his trashcan and poked him awake.

“Hnnnng. Whaaaat?”

“Wake up, time to transform.”

“Uuuuuuuggghhhh.”

“Claws out!”

Chat Noir carefully crawled out his window, up the outside wall, and onto the roof. He didn’t need anyone seeing him coming out of one of the flats. He jumped from roof to roof in a horseshoe to throw anybody off and stuck a landing in front of Ladybug, who appeared to be waiting for something.

“Is there an akuma?”

She looked startled. “What? No, not that I’ve heard.”

“Then what’s got you out in broad daylight, M’Lady?”

Ladybug twisted her hands together. “I have to return my miraculous sooner than I thought.”

Chat Noir’s throat went dry. “Permanently or temporarily?”

“Until after I recover from having the baby. Master Fu says it’s too dangerous for me to be Ladybug while I’m pregnant at all. He’s not confident that Tikki can protect me and…” Her hand drifted to her lower abdomen, which he now saw was getting round. How had he missed that before?

Chat Noir held Ladybug’s upper arms. “Hey. It’s okay. Do what you need to do. I’d never ask you to put your kid in danger.”

Ladybug looked down at her belly. “I just thought I’d have more time before giving this up.”

“But hey, it’s not forever! You’ll be back in no time. You won’t be able to resist my animal magnetism.”

She giggled. Then she gazed at his face. “What was it that was bothering you out last night?”

“You, you noticed that?”

“I noticed. What aren’t you telling me?”

“I don’t want to put any more stress on your shoulders, LB. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“You’re my best friend, kitty, I’ll worry anyways. And I won’t see you for a few months.”

He sighed dramatically. “This is one hell of a coincidence, but we’re actually in similar boats. My - my girlfriend is pregnant, too.”

Ladybug blinked. “Oh. Oh, that’s wonderful! Wait...are you excited?”

“Thrilled. I’m just worried. It’s what I talked to Master Fu about last night. After what you said, I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if I tell her who I am, too.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute. He wished, not for the first time, that he could tell what she’s feeling from looking at her face. Finally she smiled. “It’s not an easy choice, is it?”

Chat Noir laughed. “Nope.”

“Well. Good luck with your baby. I don’t want to say goodbye, but...I should give the earrings to Master Fu.”

“Yeah. I’ll miss you, Bugaboo.” He wrapped her up in a long, warm hug.

When she eventually pulled away she gave him her best smile. “See you in six months, Chat Noir. And hey, by then we’ll both be parents!”

Chat Noir grinned and saluted her as she yoyo-ed in the direction of Master Fu’s flat.

* * *

Tears streamed down Marinette’s face as she took out her earrings, her eyes locked on Tikki. She handed them to Master Fu. “It’s going to be really hard being in the same apartment and not being able to talk to you.”

“I know, Marinette. But at least I’ll be close by.”

Marinette wiped her eyes. Fu took her hands and squeezed comfortingly. “You must remember why you are doing this.”

She nodded and wiped her eyes. “Master Fu, there’s something else I wanted to ask you. Regarding my secret identity.”

He sighed. “Do you wish to tell Mlle. Cesaire? That would be very dangerous.”

She shook her head. “No, I want to tell the baby’s father. He’s going to be a permanent part of my life after they’re born, and I don’t think I can keep lying to him about where I vanish to when I’m Ladybug.”

Master Fu gave her a _look._ A squinty-eyed, not-quite scrutable look. “May I ask, who is this young man? I should know whom you’re trusting your identity with.”

 _That’s not a no._ “An old friend of mine, Adrien Agreste.”

His eyebrows shot valiantly toward his receding hairline and his eyes widened. “Adrien Agreste...the fashion model, no?”

“That’s him.”

He bowed his head and his shoulders started shaking. Wayzz hovered oh-so-nonchalantly over his shoulder. Marinette bent over him, concerned. “Master? Are you all right?”

Fu straightened to reveal a red face and a big smile, and he was chuckling like a maniac. Marinette frowned at him.

“Why is that funny?” she demanded.

The guardian coughed and got a hold of himself. “Nothing, nothing. I suppose I should have figured a girl such as yourself would catch the eye of a celebrity.”

Marinette blushed furiously. “It’s not like that - I’ve known him since we were thirteen.”

“He’s only teasing, Marinette,” Tikki said. Wayzz opened his mouth and she slapped a little nub-hand over his mouth.

“If you’re sure you trust him,” Master Fu continued, “Then I agree sharing your identity with him is in your best interests.”

Despite her annoyance she breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Master.” She turned to leave, but with her hand on the door handle, she looked back sharply and said, “I’m not a groupie!” before darting into the hallway.

* * *

Alya knocked on her best friend’s door. She heard sobbing through the thin wood and plaster. “Mari? Marinette, what’s wrong?” She cautiously opened the door.

Marinette was curled around a throw pillow on her bed, crying and hiccuping into the fabric. Alya sat next to her and gently put Marinette’s head in her lap, stroking her dark hair.

“Just - just stupid horm - ormones.”

“I agree hormones are stupid. But did something happen?”

“I lost my earrings,” she gasped.

“The black ones you’ve worn for a decade? Oh Mari, I’m so sorry.” Alya kept running her fingers through her best friend’s hair while she cried into her jeans. She expected the volatile emotions; she remembered what her mom was like, pregnant with the twins. On a normal day, getting upset over lost beloved jewelry was totally valid; in Marinette’s state it must feel devastating.


	7. Chapter 7

Alya almost missed the dark wooden box on her bedside table when she got home. Her breath hitched when she recognized it. She picked it up and sat on the bed, fingers tracing the edges reverently. _Why do they need Rena Rouge again after four years? Why isn’t Ladybug here to deliver the miraculous herself? Why leave it waiting for me? Do I get to keep it permanently this time?_

She opened the lid. Instead of the orange glow she was once accustomed to, a pink ball of light flashed in front of her and flew around her head. A rose-colored kwami emerged as the light faded and opened a pair of eyes like blue marbles.

“What’s going on? Where’s Trixx? Who are you?”

Instead of the fox kwami’s throaty, sandpaper voice, this one spoke at a pitch only jingle bells had any right to achieve. “Hello, Alya. I’m Tikki. Ladybug needs you again but this time not as Rena Rouge.”

“Not Rena Rouge? Then what…” Alya trailed off as she looked into the box that had a pair of red and black spotted studs inside. “Are those...no…”

“Yes. Ladybug needs you to stand in as Ladybug.”

“But _why?_ What happened to her?”

“She’s fine, trust me. She just needs to take a leave of absence from being a superhero. Ladybug is trusting you to take her place until she can return.”

“ _Whoa…_ ” Alya gazed at the earrings. She could hardly believe it. “This is a dream, right?”

Tikki sighed sadly. “No, it’s not.”

“Hey,” Alya cupped her hands underneath the kwami, and she sank down to perch in her hold. “I promise I won’t let her down. I know you miss the real Ladybug, but I’ll do my best, okay?”

“I’m confident in you, Alya. Trixx has only the best things to say about you! And so does M - Ladybug!”

Alya twitched an eyebrow. “Why, Tikki, did you almost spill Ladybug’s identity?”

She puffed up with pride. “I am physically incapable of doing such a thing.”

“Really?”

“Watch.” Tikki started talking and bubbles immediately poured from her tiny mouth. “Same thing would happen if Trixx or I tried to say your name to someone.”

“That’s one hell of a magical insurance policy. Tikki, can you at least tell me _why_ Ladybug needs me to fill in?”

“She trusts you, Alya. You have to trust her, too.”

Alya gingerly took the earrings out of their box. In her hand, the pattern morphed into a pair of beautiful gold discs. She put them into her ears. “I love gold jewelry.”

Tikki giggled. “It suits you.”

* * *

The weird jelly the ultrasound tech spread across Marinette’s abdomen was _cold_. She hissed and Adrien squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah it’s just chilly.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the first appointment.”

“You’ve apologized a thousand times already, it’s fine. You had to work.”

“I’m just nervous.”

“Don’t worry about her, darling,” the tech told him. “I’ve done this countless times. Aaaaand… here’s your baby.”

A steady thumping sound filled the room; the baby’s heartbeat. On the grainy screen Marientte could make out the shape of a tiny infant. It looked more human than her last appointment. She heard Adrien’s breath hitch beside her.

“So you can see the head here,” the technician pointed at the large circle that was about the same size as the rest of the body. “If you look closely there’s the nose right here. And here,” she traced a white arc on the screen, “the spine is developing.”

“Wow,” Marinette breathed. Her eyes prickled, vision swimming, and she wiped at the tears so she could still see her baby. The image spastically showed them wiggling around.

“I’ll print out some images. I can also give you the full recording, if you’d like.”

“Yes, yes, absolutely yes!” Marinette told her.

“All right, everything looks good.” The tech removed the wand from Marinette’s skin and gave her some paper towels to wipe off the gel. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Marinette turned to Adrien once they were alone. He looked dumbstruck, still staring at the black screen. “Adrien?” She cupped his cheek.

He opened his mouth but no words came out. He just looked at her with sparkling, happy eyes and she grinned at him. “I know. Me too.”

As he clasped her hand with both of his and kissed her fingers, she pictured him kissing their baby’s forehead like that. Cradling them in his arms with that speechless joy on his face. Walking into the living room to see him asleep on the couch with their baby asleep on his chest. Adrien flying a spoonful of goopy baby food into their mouth while making silly airplane noises. Getting jostled awake because he’d shot out of bed in the middle of the night to comfort his crying child.

Marinette could picture it all; warm fantasies of a life she hadn’t dared imagine since she was fourteen years old.

How could a heart so full hurt so much?

She’d come close to telling him her greatest secret so many times in the past couple days. She _wanted_ him to know. But when she finally admitted it, she’d be taking a huge leap of faith, and she couldn’t seem to push herself past balancing on the precipice. She would lean forward, about to jump, and seize up with terror, throat closed and breath punched from her lungs. Marinette felt paralyzed from the fear that Adrien would never trust her again.

* * *

Alya’s costume looked different from Ladybug’s. There was still a yoyo slung around her waist. The bodice sported the same pattern of red with black spots. The biggest difference she could see in front of her mirror was her mask was solid red and her suit was completely black at her hands, feet, shins, and forearms, imitating skin-tight boots and gloves. It reminded her oddly of her Rena Rouge outfit, minus the coattails. Her hair had darkened to a deep blackish auburn and was done in a low ponytail.

She hoped Chat Noir knew she was coming to patrol tonight and not the regular ladybug. Otherwise this was going to be an awkward conversation.

Rena Rouge was used to jumping from building to building. Swinging from a yoyo was an entirely different experience, wilder and just as exhilarating. She found Chat Noir waiting at the top of the Eiffel Tower. He was perched on one of the railings.

He gave her a smirk that dripped with bravado. “‘Evening, Rena Rouge. Red looks good on you.”

Alya slung the yoyo back around her hips, relieved. “So you know why I’m here?”

“Because Ladybug needs a little medical leave and she trusts you to take up the mantle for a while.”

“Medical?” Tikki hadn’t said anything about that. “Is something wrong?”

Chat Noir bit his lip then swung off the rail. “She’s okay. But if your kwami didn’t go into more detail then I must also respect my lady’s wishes.”

She chuckled. “Loyalty. I like it. What does that make me?”

“Hmmm. I suppose you do need your own name in the meantime. How about Ladybird?”

“I’m down with that. Shall we, Chat Noir?”

“We shall.”

* * *

After his photoshoot, someone knocked on the door of Adrien’s trailer. He threw on his jacket. “Come in.”

Marinette came in and closed the door behind her. She looked beautiful in a dark green dress with rose accents. She was starting to really show, at least if you knew to look for it. His heart leapt in his throat; it’d been doing that a lot lately, when he saw her, like his best-kept secret was trying to escape and reach her. Adrien kept waiting for the right moment to let the words loose - _I’m Chat Noir_ \- but they’ve yet to leave his lips.

Instead, he smiled at her. “Hey, Marinette. The shoot just ended, do you want to go get dinner?”

“No. Well, yes, I’m a bit hungry, but that’s not why I’m here. I need to talk to you first. Privately.” She was fidgeting _a lot_. Shifting her weight, playing with her hair, chewing her lip. Something was making her nervous.

“What is it?”

Marinette walked closer to him. “Well, I’ve been thinking about this a lot and there’s something I should tell you.”

“You’re not going to tell me you’re pregnant, are you?” Adrien asked dryly.

The joke had the desired effect. She laughed her cute, surprised laugh that he loved hearing. She put a hand against her belly. “No, but it’s something just as big, just as important. I...I’m…”

Marinette trailed off, staring at him. She was one of the few people Adrien could make eye contact with easily. Instead of intimidating, her dark blue irises were oddly comforting.

And familiar.

He may not have the best track record reading people’s faces, but Marinette was _very_ expressive, and he’d known her for over a decade. He could swear he saw the exact same apprehension in her eyes that he felt lodged in his throat. Like they were gearing up to do the same thing.

Adrien took in her cerulean eyes and her midnight hair. He looked down at her growing baby bump then at her missing round earrings - the ones she seemed to never take off until a couple days ago.

“Yeah?” he prompted her.

“I...think we should seriously consider what your dad said about getting married.” Her words flooded out of her in a rush. 

He breathed out a sigh. He was just being paranoid. Women in their twenties got pregnant and changed earrings all the time; this was hardly a damning coincidence. And Miraculous holders’ hair changed when they transformed, so any similarities on a civilian meant little. Of _course_ that’s not what she wanted to tell him, what were the odds they were both…

Marinette’s words finally sunk in. “Wait, what? You agree with him?”

“Not exactly. I probably shouldn’t have led with that.”

“A wedding is his way of controlling me, and by extension, you.”

“I know. But also...um, come on.” She sat down in one of the puffy blue chairs in his trailer and gestured for him to take the other one. _Yeah, sitting’s probably a good idea right now._

“I won’t say your dad wasn’t inconsiderate on the phone. But you said before said he was being protective. It got kind of overshadowed by the job offer thing, but when he called he was, for lack of a better word, imploring me. I think he’s really worried. And I’ve started to think, for once, it’s for good reason..”

Adrien was not prepared for this conversation. “What did he say to you?”

“He made some valid points. Like it or not, you’re famous, Adrien. I want our family to be as drama-free as possible and the press will have a field day with an unplanned pregnancy.”

“The press is archaic.”

“Exactly. They’ll call us horrible names and judge us both and threaten to take our baby away. I don’t think I could handle seeing words like – like slut or deadbeat or illegitimate in the tabloids.”

“Or bastard,” he murmured.

“Hm?”

“When I told Chloe about the baby she called them a ‘bastard.’ A mistake. Those were the exact words she used and god, I’ve never been so furious in my life. I just couldn’t believe she would go there. But marriage is a big, personal decision, Marinette. Is fear a good enough reason to get married?”

Marinette’s breath hitched. Would that girl ever not haunt her? “Uh - um. M-more like safety is a good reason?”

“You don’t sound certain. Also remember it’s still giving into my father. He’s trying to take charge of our lives.”

“I won’t let him.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her.

“ _Really._ I met with him yesterday and turned down the job.”

“Marinette - ”

“Wait, just listen. I negotiated with him.”

He chuckled. “Of course you did.”

“Your dad thought I was foolish for turning down a secure position in my field of interest. So I told him there was another way to ensure my job security for the sake of his grandkid.” Marinette sat up straight and flushed with pride. “He’s agreed to help finance and promote my own boutique.”

Adrien gasped. “Oh my god, that’s incredible, Marinette!” On impulse he swooped in, picked her up by the waist, and spun her around. Her musical laugh flooded him with warmth.

When he put her down, he was well-aware he was grinning like an idiot. This girl negotiated with _Gabriel “my word is law” Agreste._ How was he so lucky to have someone so clever in his life? He never wanted her to leave.

“I know we’re not together,” Marinette said softly. “But we’re close friends. We’re having a baby. Would…we could…it’s not like we couldn’t handle living together.”

“Do you really want that? If we got married, you’d be stuck with me.”

“You’re already stuck with me,” Marinette said while pointedly running a palm over her belly.

“What if you fall in love with another man?”

On his part, Adrien had trouble picturing himself with anyone at all. His future revolved around his baby now, so naturally it revolved around Marinette, too. She was family.

“Think of it this way. The pros of getting married: we live together, which makes taking care of the baby more convenient, as well as…” _God, she’s cute when she blushes_ . “The public tones down the judgement and we get to have a big party in our honor. Which I’ll bet anything your dad will offer to pay for. We already get along very well so I think we’ll handle day-to-day logistics just fine. Cons: potential boyfriends and girlfriends down the road get problematic. That’s a big _if._ I don’t know about you but I’m not looking for a new relationship. If it comes up, we cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Adrien didn’t expect the pang in his stomach when she said she wasn’t looking for a relationship. Also, the idea of marrying this smart, vibrant woman – getting to be in her everyday life – quickly became something he didn’t think he could say no to if he wanted.

Apparently she wasn’t done talking. “I get that it feels like your dad’s controlling us. If we were strangers or something then I’d say absolutely not. But with us...it’s not how I pictured getting married, but I couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

It hit Adrien how badly he wanted that. A family with Marinette, a future with Marinette. Waking up next to her every morning, cooking breakfast for her, watching her sketch and sew her designs, going on walks with their baby, holding her at night. Almost nothing in the universe could make him pass that up.

“Then let’s do this,” he agreed. “Let’s get married.”

He felt like the most selfish person in Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone who's trying to keep track, 1) I'm bad with timelines and 2) Marinette's at the 16 week mark during this ultrasound.


	8. Chapter 8

Adrien called his house and asked Nathalie to tell Father that the wedding was on. He and Marinette had agreed on setting the date in six weeks and publicly announcing their engagement as soon as 1) they told Marinette’s parents and 2) she had an actual ring on her finger.

He bought her a ring with a single, round white diamond nestled in an intricately shaped white gold flower. After filling in the Dupain-Chengs (Tom and Sabine were criers, it turned out), they made a big show of the proposal in the park outside her parents’ bakery, everything a little too over-the-top and both trying hard not to laugh as they gathered an audience.

Alya was _psyched_ when she found out _._ She punched the air, crushed Marinette in an excited hug, and squealed, “You _finally_ got together! Marinette, I’m so happy for you!”

Marinette didn’t have the heart to tell her it was more complicated than that. That their marriage was for PR and convenience.

That wasn’t obvious from their announcement, though. The Instagram picture they’d both posted showed Adrien’s fingers laced with hers and holding her hand up so the ring was front and center; Marinette was grinning so wide her eyes were almost crinkled shut while she held out the phone; and Adrien had his lips pressed into her hair. They looked like any deliriously happy couple.

Honestly, she’d begun to feel like she was taking advantage of Adrien. She’d begun to want more from him, like she used to. She wanted romance. Their intimacy was casual and trusting and easy, not deep and heartfelt and overwhelming. But after a long time on safe, stable shore with Adrien, Marinette felt herself drowning in him again. She felt like she was tricking him into deepening their relationship, but if she told him she’d fallen in love with him again, she could lose what they already had. He’d insist they get some space so she wouldn’t get hurt.

Space from him was the last thing she wanted. If she couldn’t have all of him, she’d make herself happy with most of him. When all was said and done, Adrien did make her happy.

Marinette got the photo printed and framed.

* * *

One week later Adrien came to his father’s office to drop off the designs Marinette had been agonizing over for days. He didn’t blame her. Guys were lucky because the dress code was simple: fitted tux. Wedding gowns, on the other hand, depended so much on the individual bride and especially as a fashion designer, Marinette needed it to be perfect.

The dress may still only be drawings, but Adrien thought it was already stunning. At least the manufacturing would be in good hands with Gabriel. The man was nothing if not serious about his work.

As Adrien expected, Nathalie was doing all the wedding planning under his father’s careful direction. Gabriel chose the venue and the caterer and relented only on Nino being the DJ.

(“A wedding band would have far more class, son.”

“Well, we want Nino in charge of the music.”

“The least you could do is let me hire a professional.”

“Father, this is literally his job.”)

Along with the designs, Adrien handed over three color swatches to his father for the color scheme.

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. “Never would have pegged you for the pink type.”

“Pink for her, green for me, silver for us both. Also, the decorations should be built around her dress.”

“Of course. I’ll be sure to meet both your wishes. Do you have a guest list yet?”

He nodded. “We sent out the invitations this morning. It’ll be small, about sixty people.”

“In which case I believe you’ve adequately prepared me for the task.”

“I guess I’ll go, then.” Adrien wanted out of this cold, pristine room as fast as he could. After living with warm, fun-loving, slightly messy Nino his entire adult life, the mansion had become even chillier and more echoing. He was already leaving when Gabriel’s voice stopped him.

“Adrien.”

“Father?”

“Does Mlle. Dupain-Cheng know about your autism diagnosis?”

Adrien started. Gabriel didn’t make a habit of bringing up this topic. This was something his family had always accommodated quietly. To his understanding, his mother took him to a treatment center in Israel as a toddler, and returned with a firm resolution that France’s attitudes and policies regarding autistic children were archaic. She used what she’d learned abroad to construct his daily routine and his homeschooling. His father followed her lead, despite taking a less active role in his life. Adrien grew up learning to cope with his struggles and keep quiet about their source. That was one huge reason Adrien wanted to go to public school after his mother died. She’d handled his education; his father tried but didn’t really know how. Without her he knew he needed to get out into the world and make her proud, prove that he didn’t need to be coddled anymore.

Nathalie and the Gorilla were given very specific instructions about his needs and signed extensively detailed Non-Disclosure Agreements. Adrien had always felt torn between gratitude and shame about that.

Adrien shook his head. “I haven’t told her.”

“I urge you to do so soon. Cautiously. She should have an accurate idea of what she might expect from her child.”

Adrien shifted nervously, chewing on his tongue. His heart rate ticked up.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes over his tented fingers. “Are you concerned?”

He nodded. Words refused to form in his mouth.

Gabriel sighed. “I wish your mother were here.” Adrien did, too. “This will be difficult, Adrien. But the sooner you tell her, the sooner she’ll come to understand.”

His parents had done their best to hide the horrors of how autistic children in France were treated from him for years. Once he’d learned on his own, he understood why. He had days where he wished vehemently that he’d never found out. But Adrien couldn’t imagine sweet, compassionate, quirky Marinette being so horrible.

At least, he ardently hoped she wasn’t. Even with everything he knew and believed about her, people still shocked him. The very thought made him feel sick to his stomach.

Adrien tapped his leg, breathed in, and focused. “I’ll find a way to tell Marinette. I trust her."

* * *

The first and only time Adrien had ever “come out” to somebody as autistic, it hadn’t gone well. To be precise, _Adrien_ hadn’t. _Chat Noir_ did tell Ladybug back when they were sixteen.

_She snorted and said, “No way.”_

_“I’m serious, Bugaboo.”_

_“I believe you’re serious. I just think you’re barking up the wrong tree.”_

_“No. A doctor diagnosed me when I was eleven months old.”_

_“But you’re so…”_

_“What? Normal? I’ve had years of practice hiding it from people, LB.”_

_“Chat Noir, come on, you’re not one of those guys.”_

_Chat Noir huffed and stood up, holding his baton behind his neck. “Actually, I am.”_

_“What – but you battle evil! You flirt and, and make jokes - you just seem so high-functioning, does it really…”_

_Those words punched Chat Noir in the gut. ‘High-functioning.’ What, he had a sense of humor so it didn’t count? He could fight so it didn’t count? Even though the very thought of wool fabric made him cry and he could see music and people’s faces confused him and he could recite ever line from all of his favorite animes from memory?_

_The way Ladybug said it, made it sound like she couldn’t believe anything was hard for him. That he ever struggled._

_“I’d hoped you of all people would believe me, but fine. Think whatever you want to think.” He extended his baton and catapulted away from her._

_“Chat Noir! I’m sorry, please talk to me!”_

“Marinette, we…we need to talk about the baby. What they might inherit from me.” Belatedly, Adrien thought lying in bed post-coital probably wasn’t the best time to have this conversation. It was too late, though. The words were out.

Marinette sat up and stretched. “You sound worried. What is it?”

_Okay, brain. We’re going to ease into this. Explain the situation nice and calmly._

“I have autism!” _Goddammit, brain._

She hummed thoughtfully. “I thought you might.”

Adrien’s head snapped to hers. “What?”

“You just…” She seemed to consider her thoughts while she slipped Adrien’s previously discarded t shirt over her head. The way it hung off her too-small shoulders made her look unbearably cuddly and sexy (and no amount of serious conversation could distract from that). “I have a very close autistic friend and you remind me of him sometimes.”

“Oh.”

“I’m afraid I didn’t react very compassionately at first when he told me.”

“I just thought you needed to know because it’s heritable. Kids on the spectrum tend to be really difficult.”

“Hey.” Adrien looked at Marinette. Her eyes had gone huge. “Is that what your father says to you?”

He shrugged. “It’s true.”

“Adrien, _all_ parenting is difficult. That doesn’t give someone the right to tell that to their kids! That kind of thing can make you feel like – like a, a burden or something, that’s awful!”

Adrien fell back onto the bed. “I appreciate it Marinette. But my mom had to take me all the way to Israel. She had to interpret what I needed when I should’ve been talking to her already. You know I didn’t say a word until I was four?”

Marinette laid down with him. “She gave you what you needed because she loved you. If anything this baby has an advantage here. If they’re autistic, then they’ll have a father who understands what they’re going through much better than their mother.”

She raised an arm over Adrien’s head and he scooted down to bury his face against her ribcage. She ran her fingers through his hair and he fucking _melted,_ it felt so good. He had to chant ‘don’t purr, don’t purr’ in his head when she scratched his scalp. He descended into that full-body contentment he could never quite describe.

Adrien gently stroked her baby bump under the loose shirt. He couldn’t wait to feel them move through her skin. “However they turn out, you’re going to be an amazing mom, Marinette.”

“You will, too,” she breathed. “I – I mean father! You’re gonna be an amazing _father_.” He chuckled.

_Marinette felt like crap and she wasn’t sure what just happened. She couldn’t really talk to anyone about this without giving away her identity or implicating her other friends._

_“Spots off.” She buried her face in her pillow._

_“Marinette.”_

_“I don’t understand what happened, Tikki. What did I do?”_

_“Chat Noir tried to trust you with something very personal and you didn’t believe him.”_

_She shot upright, staring at her kwami in disbelief. “But – ”_

_Tikki held up a little nub hand to silence her. “You didn’t believe him. Given this has always been a part of his life, don’t you think Chat Noir knows a lot more than you do?”_

_Marinette gaped. Then threw her head back with a groan. “UGH. This is a disaster!”_

_“You can fix your friendship, Marinette. Just remember the most important thing is to listen.”_

_Cursing herself for her arrogance, she climbed down her ladder and spun her chair to her computer._

_“What are you doing?”_

_“Research.”_

_She spent half the night reading as much as she could, but still nothing made sense. The stuff these websites described sounded_ nothing _like the Chat Noir she knew. It mostly just confirmed what she thought she already knew. Even the definitions of “high-functioning” versus “low-functioning” contradicted nothing._

_Marinette had the haunting feeling that she was missing something important._

_She awoke with a jolt, falling off her chair with a yelp._

_“Marinette, wake up, you’re going to be late for school if you don’t hurry!” Her mom pushed up the trap door and saw Marinette sprawled on the floor. “Oh, honey, you don’t look well.”_

_“I don’t feel well, either.”_

_“Come on sweetheart, up we get.” Sabine gently pulled her to her feet. “You get back into your pajamas and back into bed, all right? I’ll call the school.”_

_Marinette considered arguing. But she felt exhausted and didn’t have any exams today, so she ended up acquiescing._

_She had just enough presence of mind to text Alya that she’ll need class notes today before she fell back asleep._

_Dreams heavily featuring her partner’s betrayed kitten eyes pervaded her subconscious. His face looked made of stone as he said that she of all people should believe him. Tikki’s voice saying she should have listened, that Chat Noir must know more, echoing like a soundtrack while he disappeared into the night._

_Marinette’s eyes flew open. She knew what had been bothering her about all that research. Everything, everyone, every resource talked about symptoms and interventions and family problems. They implied those children were empty, devoid of emotion and motivation, in need of being fixed._

_Nothing – absolutely_ nothing _– made any mention of what having autism was_ like. _Because nothing had come from somebody who actually had it. Marinette couldn’t buy for a second that other people would understand autism more than autistic people._

_She went back to her computer determined to get her information from the horse’s mouth this time. And boy did she find it._

_It really struck her how nonsensical this all made non-verbal communication sound. The phrases “just tell me” and “I can’t read minds” cropped up over and over again along with complaints about how convoluted body language was. There were descriptions about getting overstimulated and overwhelmed. Accounts of severe bullying and constant confusion about why they couldn’t make friends. She learned words like “nonverbal” and “neurotypical” and “masking.” The concept of stimming sent her deep into the rabbit hole because nothing else she’d read gave her actual reasons for the unusual body language. It made her think of all the times she’d seen Chat Noir chew on his tail, spin his miraculous, jump up and down when he was bored, even bite his fingers, which she’d never thought would taste good with the gloves. It was self-regulation! Stopping that would be like stopping someone from blinking._

_It continued. Marinette cycled through feelings of horror and fascination and contrition as each piece of new information pried her mind a little more open. She wanted to hit herself over the head with her yoyo once she’d finished watching a “Things Never to Say to an Autistic Person” video because she was so guilty of saying those things._

_God, Ladybug owed her partner such a huge apology._

_“Marinette! Alya is here! Are you awake?”_

_Marinette looked away from her screen and realized the sun was getting low. School must’ve ended ages ago. “Yes, mom! Tikki, hide.”_

_The trapdoor opened. “Hey, girl. How are you feeling?”_

_“A lot better. Guess I just needed some sleep.”_

_Alya pulled out the notes she’d taken for Marinette from her backpack. Her eyes were on the desktop. “Doesn’t look like you’ve been sleeping to me. What is all this?”_

_“Oh! Uh – ” Half-truth, half-truth, half-truth – “I said something stupid the other day and got called out on it. So. I’ve been googling my ignorance.”_

_“Whoa, that’s a lot.” Alya scrolled through the page she was on. She shook her head. “God, sometimes I can’t believe the bullshit that happens right under our noses.”_

_Marinette sighed dejectedly. “You’re telling me.”_

They were both drifting off, warm under the blanket and curled around each other’s bodies. Marinette was pressed against Adrien’s back, had one leg in between his, and an arm curled around his waist. Her nose and forehead touched his naked shoulder blade. She felt his breathing getting deeper.

An explosion lit up the night sky outside the window and bellowed a sound that jolted Marinette and Adrien into full consciousness. They pressed themselves to the window.

“Oh, no…” Marinette moaned.

Adrien confirmed it. “Akuma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The treatment center Emilie took Adrien is a real place. It's called the Mifne Center and they used reciprocal play therapy to teach autistic babies and toddlers to cope with their environment.
> 
> This is also a friendly reminder not to support Autism Speaks, because it promotes traumatizing "interventions," frames autism as a tragedy, and dehumanizes autistic people. Any comments trying to argue with me about this will promptly be deleted. I'm autistic so those people can bite me.


	9. Chapter 9

For the first time in four years, Gabriel Agreste picked up the box that contained his miraculous. He didn’t open it, but closed the portrait in his office and journeyed underground. He found his wife looking exactly the same as she had since she’d fallen asleep. It was only dedicated work and a miracle that kept her alive.

Gabriel placed his palm on the glass, sighing deeply with longing. Remembering her voice was hard these days. He missed the way she’d quirk an eyebrow at him and laugh like she knew something he didn’t. He needed her to be his stubborn, stubborn anchor again.

“Our son is getting married, Emilie.” The words were soft. “He’s having a baby. I wish you could see him now.”

The way her face looked smooth as stone disconcerted him.

“I was ready to give you up. Adrien has come too close to the line of fire too many times. But now I have more reason than ever to bring you back. I swear to you, you’ll meet your grandchild.”

Gabriel gave himself another moment with Emilie. Then he straightened, opened the box, and watched Nooroo flash into existence.

“Master?”

Gabriel fastened the brooch to his shirt. “It is time that you serve me again, Nooroo.”

* * *

Adrien leapt out of bed and threw on a pair of pants.

“What are you doing?” Marinette sat up.

“I’m going downstairs to make sure Nino and Alya are okay.” He hated how easily the lie rolled off his tongue. It steeled his resolve to tell Marinette who he was. Just not now.

“Adrien,” Marinette pleaded, catching his arm and pulling him back towards her. “Stay with me, please. It’s dangerous out there.”

He looked anguished. “Mari…” Gentle fingers brushed her hair behind her ears. “I want to explain, but now’s a very, very bad time and I have to go. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

“Just don’t go.”

“Trust me.” Adrien regretfully let go of her face and turned to leave only to be pulled back again. He thought he’d have to keep making his case – which he did not have enough brain power to do just now – but Marinette sealed their lips together and gripped him tight. He kissed her back, trying to reassure her. They pulled away slowly, and as soon as they parted, Adrien’s eyes fluttered open. Hers were still closed, her face desperate.

“I’ll be back,” he breathed. He kissed her forehead then forced himself out of her hold.

The room suddenly felt cold with Adrien gone. Marinette opened her mouth and looked around, only to remember that _Tikki wasn’t here._ She hadn’t felt so helpless since Stoneheart.

The only thing she could do was stop Adrien from doing something stupid. She scrambled out of bed and yanked open the half-closed bedroom door. A bright green flash nearly blinded her in the dark room.

Marinette stared, dumbfounded, as Chat Noir leapt out an open window, his back to her.

* * *

Alya startled awake at the explosion outside. She kicked away the covers and rushed to her apartment window, where a giant pink and purple cloud of something was quickly engulfed in flame.

She turned to Tikki. “I don’t suppose that was a freak accident.”

The kwami looked worried. “That’s definitely an akuma. It looks like we made this switch not a moment too soon. We need to go!”

“Tikki, spots on!” Tikki spiraled into her earrings and a pink light flashed down her body. Alya pushed open her window, flung out the yoyo, and shot off into the night.

 _I hope Chat Noir’s already on the way,_ she thought. She sprinted across the rooftops and halted behind a chimney that was right above the site of the explosion, trying to figure out what was going on. The street looked like it had been bathed in bright, multicolored paint.

“What are we looking at?”

Alya screamed and swung a punch at the voice behind her. Chat Noir, whom she could only see because of his glowing eyes and shiny bell, flipped out of her way before her fist could make contact. “Well that wasn’t very ladylike.”

“You scared me! Make a noise or something next time, you kinda camouflage in these shadows.”

“Cat snuck up on the fox – put that one in the history books.” He leapt up onto the brick chimney and perched there. “So what’s this one’s deal? I haven’t heard any more explosions.”

“I don’t know yet. We need to take a closer look.” They leapt to the ground. The damage was much more brutal up close. Radiating scorch marks littered the street. A car was upturned, on fire, and its windows were broken. The air smelled burnt and toxic.

Most disturbing was the graffiti. An entire mural of screaming and running people were plastered to the buildings, and while it was obviously spray painted, each face looked lifelike.

“Chat Noir, I think these paintings are actual people. Civilians.”

“Looks like we’re on the same page, Ladybird. And I’m guessing somebody had a lighter or a cigarette and set all the aerosol on fire, causing the car to explode.”

“But where did they go?” Alya – Ladybird yoyoed to the top of a lamppost. Now that she knew what she was looking for, she spotted a trail of particularly garish paintjobs amongst the normal Parisian street art. She called down, “They left a trail! Let’s go!”

Whoever this akumatized sucker was, they’d been busy. Chat Noir and Ladybird passed dozens, possibly hundreds of citizens turned into murals. After several minutes, she looked over to her new partner while they ran. “Why do I feel like we’re being lured into a trap?”

Ladybird flew past him when Chat Noir stopped dead in his tracks. She skidded to a halt and backtracked to him. His eyes narrowed. “Probably because it’s a trap. I don’t know how, but I think you’re right.”

“I know it’s been a few years, but Hawk Moth’s puppet used to demand the miraculous by now.”

“And if he’s suddenly come out of hiding, he must be especially desperate for them now.” He jumped onto his baton and extended it up, up, way farther up than was reasonable for any stick to hold him. He extended his arm. “Come up here.”

Ladybird slung the yoyo around his wrist and joined him at his perch. He pointed out the crazy paint trails all over the city that she couldn’t have made out before. It looked like a maze with no solution. “Maybe not a trap. More like a wild goose chase.”

“All the better to ambush us, I bet. So that must mean they have a very high vantage point, too…” Ladybird looked up. “Oh shit. The Eiffel Tower. Drop!”

They fell back to the street and rushed to an alley as far away from any paint as they could.

“I hate it when the akumas play cat and mouse,” Chat Noir complained.

Ladybird flicked his bell. “Good thing I have the cat, then. Let’s find a way to get the mouse down from its house.”

Chat Noir snorted. “That was terrible.”

“You’re really in no place to judge.”

“We need to get to the Tower without being seen, so we should stay on the ground, and avoid as much paint as we can.” A bright pink blast of orange particles beamed from the top of the Eiffel Tower and coated an entire block. “While there are any normal streets left, that is.”

Ladybird was jealous of Chat’s costume because it let him blend in with the dark streets more easily. She felt like a siren in the bright red suit – at lease her Rena Rouge costume, while orange, was soundless and easier to sneak around in. They wound through alleyways, sprinted across boulevards when they had to, and even made a detour through a sewer. By the time they reached their destination half of Paris had been turned neon colors. God knew how many people were now paint.

They almost made it. But the Eiffel Tower, for better or worse, was a major tourist attraction night and day. As such somebody screamed “ _Is that Ladybug and Chat Noir?!”_ just before they got up the damn thing. Immediately the excited couple got smushed to the sidewalk with a fountain of blue spray paint.

Ladybird flicked her yoyo to the top. “So much for the element of surprise.”

“At least we got here, didn’t we?” Chat Noir scampered up the side of the tower on all fours, somehow keeping pace with her as she shot up. They touched down onto the railing at the top.

This victim was a young woman, her hair in a messy bun the color of a blank canvas, paint brushes stuck in it like chopsticks or pencils. Her paint-splattered overalls were glowed and had way, way, way, _way_ too many pockets stuffed full of even more paint brushes. Her skin was covered in rainbow rings. She whirled around when Chat Noir cleared his throat, aiming the spray-paint can in her hand.

“What’s with all the evildoing, Graffiti Girl? Get kicked out of art school?”

Ladybird froze, then groaned from deep within her soul. “ _That_ one’s just in bad taste!”

“Yeah, I heard it as soon as I said it.”

The purple Hawk Moth mask glowed around her eyes, and she demanded, “Hand over your miraculous before the rest of Paris spends eternity as a mural!”

“I bet the akuma’s in that spray can,” Ladybird muttered.

“Summon the Lucky Charm,” Chat whispered back. “I’ll distract her.” He leapt at the akumatized woman and attempted to sweep her with his baton. She jumped over the attack, pulled out two paint brushes, and started trying to stab him.

While they fought, Ladybird looked uncertainly at the yoyo for a moment. Ladybug’s plans were always so ridiculous – how was Alya supposed to live up to the same level of mad genius?

 _Well, here goes nothing._ She flung the yoyo over her head. “ _Lucky Charm_!”

A pair of red and black spotted handcuffs fell into her grasp. “What the fuck?” She looked around furiously, trying to think what Ladybug would do. Graffiti Girl and Chat Noir were still engaged in some vicious hand to hand – or brush-knife to baton – combat. Ladybird suddenly realized that she kept making grabs for Chat’s right hand. _The ring. Of course._

The idea was stupid, but hopefully it would work. “Chat Noir! Extend your arm!”

“ _What?_ ”

“Towards me!”

He clearly thought she was crazy, but he grabbed the baton with his left hand and threw out his right. Ladybird sprinted at a central pillar, jumped onto the side, and launched herself at her partner. As expected, Graffiti Girl had snatched Chat Noir’s hand and tried to simultaneously put him in an arm lock and take off his miraculous. Ladybird slapped the woman’s wrist with one cuff, slid to the side so she twisted her body, and forced her other hand into the other cuff.

“I’ll take that.” Ladybird plucked the spray out of her grip and offered it to Chat Noir like a silver platter. “Would you like to do the honors?”

“With pleasure. _Cataclysm!_ ” She tossed him the can and he caught it, the black energy crumbling it to dust. A little black and violet butterfly fluttered up from the ashes like the worst phoenix metaphor ever.

Ladybird swiped her yoyo like she’d seen her predecessor do a hundred times and captured the akuma. It came out with its wings bright white. She watched as it disappeared among the stars. Ladybird collected the spotted handcuffs and through them into the air, wiping Paris clean from the night's neon catastrophe.

Chat Noir held up his fist with a proud smile. “Pound it?”

Ladybird grinned gratefully back at him. “Pound it!”

* * *

“Marinette,” Master Fu said. “I wasn’t expecting company this evening.”

“I’m sorry for barging in. I’m not used to just sitting by during akuma attacks, and my apartment is empty and I miss Tikki and I really didn’t want to be alone.”

“I understand. I’m deeply troubled by the appearance of this akuma tonight.”

“So am I, Master. That’s not why I’m here though.” She stood with her arms crossed. “I accidentally saw Chat Noir transform in my living room this evening.”

Fu’s only response was to go back into the kitchen and pick up a teapot. Marinette swore she saw the corners of his lips quirk up.

She threw up her hands. “You must think this is very funny, don’t you?”

“You two have paced circles around each other for thirteen years. Would you not be just as amused in my position?”

“I can’t believe I’m having Chat Noir’s baby! Do you have any idea how many kitten jokes I’ll have to endure?”

Master Fu handed her a cup of steaming tea. “Drink this. It is good for the nerves. On a more somber note, I must ask you to tell Adrien your identity very soon, Marinette. I hate to trouble you with this theory, but it concerns him as well.”

“What’s going on?” They both sat down.

“Hawk Moth released an akuma for the first time in four years. It bothers me that it’s coincided with your maternity leave.”

Marinette sighed. “It doesn’t sound like a coincidence to me either.”

“It may be he thinks his chances are better against a new ladybug. You were wise to choose someone with experience already. Whatever the reason, it’s become more imperative than ever to retrieve the missing miraculous, and now that Hawk Moth is active again, we have our chance to find him. I went back to the old academy for the Order of the Guardians, as you know. While there I recovered a number of old texts and I’ve found a single strange record about the Butterfly, so brief I almost missed it. There was once a holder who was able to detransform then akumatize himself.”

“The butterflies stay active while Hawk Moth is his civilian self?” Marinette yelped.

“Few have attempted such a thing. One succeeded in transferring powers to herself, that I now know of.”

“So Hawk Moth could have akumatized himself at some point.”

“Exactly. I’ve spent years searching for him. Every clue I find on some level implicates the same person. But I’ve never found a smoking gun, and I’ve always dismissed him because he was once akumatized into The Collector.”

“The Collector…” Marinette whispered, sifting through her memories. She remembered each akuma persona, all right, but the wacky names and civilians behind the butterfly often got mixed up in her head. “A previous suspect…oh no.” Her eyes widened. “No, no, no, tell me it can’t be Adrien’s dad.”

Master Fu just looked at her sadly.

* * *

When Adrien got back, Marinette was asleep. He sighed in relief; he needed sleep before he had this conversation with her, and after the way he jet off tonight, he had to tell her. In the morning.

He changed into a pair of sweats and slid under the covers next to her. He noticed that she’d changed into pajamas in his absence. Adrien wrapped her in his arms, one hand against her growing belly, and closed his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dude, I’m from the American Southwest, I don’t know what French people eat for breakfast. I just really like pancakes.
> 
> They really pulled some Empire Strikes Back shit on us in The Collector.

“Come _on,_ please!”

“The rules are very specific.”

“He knows I was Rena Rouge. Ladybug gave us our miraculous at the same time in high school.”

“It was a calculated risk in an emergency. With Hawk Moth active again it’s more important than ever to keep your identity safe.”

Alya took off her glasses and rubbed her forehead. “I hear you, Tikki, but Nino is the love of my life. We’ve been together for twelve years. I can’t keep something this huge from him.”

“But what if Nino gets akumatized!”

“Well,” Alya declared, “if I can’t be completely honest with my boyfriend until we defeat Hawk Butt, then I’m just extra motivated now.”

* * *

When Marinette woke up, she was laying on her side with Adrien snuggled up behind her. In her sleepy haze, she hoped last night had been a dream. She blindly traced where Adrien’s hand laid protectively against her stomach. The baby’s actual position was a little lower but the instinct was sweet nonetheless. Her thumb ran over the warm metal of his silver signet ring.

Not a dream. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. For the longest time Chat Noir had been blatantly in love with Ladybug, and she rejected him for Adrien, who was Chat Noir. Marinette would never, ever rewrite the past or give up her ten wonderful years with Luka. But damn, the universe had a twisted sense of humor.

Twisted indeed. Because as more of her brain came online, she understood her conversation with Master Fu was very, very real. The last thing she wanted to do was deliver such a major blow to Adrien’s wellbeing, but he deserved – he _needed_ to know.

Gabriel was the only living family Adrien had. How cruel was fate that Chat Noir’s adversary was his own father.

Marinette rolled over so she faced Adrien. The movement under his arm was enough to jostle him awake. He opened his eyes to see Marinette’s less than a foot away. His hand rested on her waist.

She closed her eyes again. Maybe if she just pretended to still be asleep…

Adrien saw her eyes open a millisecond before she shut them. _God, is she angry? Is she avoiding talking to me? Did I make enough of an ass of myself last night to make her hate me?_

He told himself to take a fucking chill pill and quit jumping to conclusions. It didn’t help, not like just focusing in on Marinette’s face and thinking about how to make her feel better. The guilt for leaving her in the dark – literally – still pecked away at his insides. Moving from her waist, Adrien carded his fingers through her hair and out of her face. Her eyes flew open at that.

“Hi,” she breathed softly.

He gave her a small smile. Not something too flashy and happy-go-lucky, just enough to hopefully reassure her.

The hope was in vain. The second she blinked tears appeared at her waterline and spilled over down her cheeks in quick succession.

“Hey, hey, why are you crying?”

“Last night…God, I don’t even know where to start.”

Adrien’s heart beat faster in his chest. “About that, I need to tell you something.”

“I saw you,” she interrupted. “I went to stop you last night, and I saw you transform then jump out the window.”

Green eyes met blue. Her eyebrows were all scrunched together and she was touching his face gently. He reached up to hold her hand and kiss her fingers. “God, I’m so, so sorry. I wanted to tell you. I was planning to tell you today. It shouldn’t have been like that.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered, but her eyes were still wet. “I understand, more than you think. _Mon chaton._ ” She gently moved their clasped hands so his fingers brushed her earlobe. Her unadorned earlobe. Adrien’s breath hitched. In this context, it seemed like she was implying…but it was too good to be true…

“Because I’m Ladybug.”

_Oh my god, oh my god, ohmygod, ohmygodohmygod it makes so much sense, she’s been right in front of you this whole time you idiot, holy shit I’ve had sex with Ladybug…_

He huffed a laugh and held her neck with the one hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I can’t believe it. Actually, I can, but I can’t believe through all these years I never figured it out.”

“I could say the same.”

“Yeah, but this should have been a dead giveaway.” He placed his hand on her abdomen. She smiled weakly.

Adrien pulled himself away from the warmth of the bed and got to his feet. “Come on, I’ll make you pancakes.”

In the kitchen, the weight of thirteen years of secrets, old and new questions, and conflicting memories hung in the air between them like a storm cloud, laden with heavy raindrops, getting ready to end a drought. Marinette perched on a bar stool and dug into her mountain of pecan and chocolate pancakes while Adrien manned the stove.

“The baby’s going to be born with a massive sweet tooth because of this,” she informed him.

Adrien grinned. “I can think of worse things.”

“They’ll beg us constantly for sweets.”

“It’ll be a valuable exercise in willpower.”

“I visited Master Fu during the akuma attack.” The subject change snapped at Adrien’s brain like a rubber band. He refocused on serving himself and turning off the stove. “Because it was to weird to be stuck inside, not out there fighting.”

“That must have been tough.”

“We talked, and – ” Marinette’s breath shuddered. He looked up, alarmed to see her eyes watering again. Adrien set down his own plate and stood in front of her, hands on her shoulders.

“What happened?”

“Stupid baby hormones,” she muttered through her tears. “We fig-figured something out important. I thought – thought that I sh-should tell you but, you should go see him.”

“When should we go?”

“Now. Go now. But I’m staying here; I don’t think you’ll want anyone else with you for this.”

“I always want you with me.”

Her breath hitched again, for a different reason. “Trust me and please go talk to Master Fu. It can’t wait.”

“Not even for…can’t we talk about _us_ first?”

“Adrien.” Plagg, with his ever-present impeccable timing, made an appearance. “Let’s get this over with. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come _back._ ”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm completely ignoring both Mayura and Lila in this fic, in case that wasn't clear. This is officially canon-divergent.

Marinette didn’t see Adrien for two days. She got a text from Master Fu that Adrien was in a right state and was staying with him for now. She wanted more than anything than to go to him, squeeze him so tight all his broken pieces would meld back together, but if Adrien needed time…she’d give him that. His entire world just crashed down around him. He more than deserved the right to ride out the emotional fallout in private.

If only Tikki were here. Marinette needed to talk to someone. Everywhere she turned were reminders of their impossible situation.

Monday evening, she traipsed into the living room after a long-ass afternoon with Jagged and his downright eccentric demands. He’d been severely disappointed that she’d be leaving his employment soon. She hardly collapsed on the couch when Alya’s bedroom door banged open - which is when she realized she'd walked into the wrong apartment, from force of habit. Marinette and Nino had switched right after the engagement, Marinette moving in with Adrien upstairs and Nino with Alya downstairs.

“Good, you’re home! I need to talk to you.”

“Could you get me some food first, please?” Marinette made dramatic grabby hands at her best friend. She laughed and got her something to eat before plopping down next to her. Alya’s eyes were huge and she practically vibrated.

Marinette swallowed. “You look like you’re about to burst. Wait, don’t tell me – ” she snapped her fingers “ – you finally figured out Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities.”

Alya’s only response was a dangerous smirk.

“Oh my god, no way.”

“What if I did figure it out? Or, one identity at least.”

Marinette tried really hard not to freeze. “I thought you stopped looking years ago.”

“I did! It was purely on accident. Tikki misses you, by the way.”

She let out an ungodly shriek. “Who? What? Wh – ”

Alya waved a hand dismissively. “Come _on_ , Marinette, Ladybug has to go on ‘medical leave’ right after you started showing _and_ you lost your earrings? The ones you literally never took off since high school? Look,” she moved her hair behind her ear, “they turn gold on me. It finally clicked – your miraculous was camouflaged the whole time!”

Marinette gaped at her. Then hit her with a throw pillow. “Alya! That was an incredibly dangerous risk! What if I _wasn’t_ Ladybug? You would’ve just compromised your identity!”

Tikki flew out of Alya’s shirt pocket. “I tried to discourage her, Marinette. But she started asking why you trusted her specifically with the Ladybug mantle. That led to Nino being Carapace, then there was no stopping it.”

“Tikki!” Marinette grabbed her kwami and nuzzled gently against her face. “It’s so good to see you!”

Alya shook her head. “You kept this from me for thirteen years. Like, damn, girl. I’m impressed.” She smiled when Tikki settled on Marinette’s belly. Marinette’s face fell. “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you mad? I’m sorry for poking around and betraying your trust, but I’ve found something that could really help.”

“It’s not that.” She sighed. “It’s just…Adrien’s about to go through something really, really nasty with his dad.”

“Yeah, um, Adrien’s dad is kinda what I wanted to talk about. It’s going to sound ludicrous, but Hawk Moth’s reappearance is wigging me out. I’ve spent the last two days coordinating all my old data about past akumas; all the time related stats are completely random. They’ve appeared at all times during the night and day and never follow any kind of weekly schedule.”

Marinette snorted. “Believe me, I noticed.”

“There’s one pattern I did find. Come here.” Alya pulled Marinette to her feet and led her to her bedroom, which had turned into a conspiracy theory madhouse of maps and colored string. Alya pointed to a huge one in the corner, the only one with lines that didn’t look random.

“What’s all this?”

“Orange ones are where akumatizations appeared. The blue ones are where citizens have just spotted glowing purple butterflies. Remember when they started popping up all over Instagram?”

“Yeah, people were constantly looking for them.”

“I think Hawk Moth shut down shop because of that. The orange points,” she pointed on the map, “give a general idea of the target range in the city, but with the geo-tagging of the butterflies on social media it’s a much clearer picture.” Alya pointed at the point around which the blues coalesced, forming the eye of a storm. “It’s coming from the Agreste mansion.

“Before you say anything, I promise I don’t think Hawk Moth is Adrien!”

Marinette cackled. “Oh, there is no way in hell Hawk Moth is Adrien.”

“Agreed! But that means he has to be Gabriel Agreste.”

They stared at each other for several heartbeats. Alya was all but holding her breath. Marinette just stared at her sadly, an odd mix of proud and scared and ironic feelings stirring in her chest.

Finally, she said, “I know.”

“You do? How?”

“It’s – ” Marinette sighed. “There are some things I still can’t tell you, Alya. What I can say is I found out two days ago, during the last akuma attack.”

Alya put her head in her hand. “God, I hoped I was wrong…”

“Me, too.”

“Does Adrien know?”

“Yes. About me, and about his dad. I haven’t seen him in two days…I hope he hasn’t done something stupid.” 

* * *

When the next akuma came, Adrien was furious. It wasn’t a difficult battle; Chat and Ladybird handled the poor akumatized bloke without a hitch. When the black fog evaporated around him, the guy, a grammar school teacher named Mssr. Deforest, realized what had happened and broke down crying. He sobbed that he could’ve seriously hurt the kids he was charged with.

It was hardly a unique reaction to getting akumatized. But this time, knowing _who_ had targeted the man, Chat saw red.

“Chat Noir! Where are you going?”

He looked back at Ladybird. “It’s time to end this.”

Chat Noir stopped at home because Plagg was going to bitch at him if he didn’t get his cheese. He tucked a wheel in his pocket.

“You’re back.”

He whirled around. Marinette was curled up on the couch with her sketchpad in her lap and a bowl of carrots on the coffee table.

“I can’t let this go on,” he said softly. “I’m going to confront my father.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“Adrien – ”

“You can’t talk me out of this.”

She stood and crossed the floor to where he stood. Her hair was damp, like she’d just gotten out of the shower; he could smell her conditioner. “You just finished a battle – stay, get some rest, and we’ll make a plan. We’ll face this together. Like we always do.”

“Marinette.” Chat Noir gingerly placed his hands on her belly. “I want you there more than anything in the world, but I obviously don’t know my own father. Without your miraculous I don’t want him anywhere near you or the kitten. He’s dangerous and unpredictable.”

Marinette had to close her eyes to conceal her eye roll at ‘kitten.’ “You expect me to just stay here and wait while you’re out there all alone? You need backup!”

She was clearly itching to come with him. Her fingers kept twitching towards her hip, where her yoyo normally rests. “Who would you have me take? Queen Bee? If Ladybird comes with me then both miraculous will be right in his reach, should the worst happen.”

“Hawk Moth is transformed right now and in case you’ve forgotten, he’s beaten the shit out of both of us before.”

Adrien’s mouth quirked in a half smile with no amusement. “When I tell him who I am, the guilt’s going to kill him. I don’t think he cares about anybody’s safety except maybe mine. So please stay here. Protect our baby.”

“How are you so sure this will work?”

“If he doesn’t listen to me, he won’t listen to anyone.”

Marinette thought about everything she’d seen Gabriel do. Adrien’s ever-present bodyguard. Regulating his schedule. Keeping tabs on his friends. Hawk Moth was a monster to everyone in the city but he would never directly hurt Adrien. She had to believe that, because she didn’t see any better options.

“Okay,” she breathed.

Chat Noir swiftly knelt in front of her and kissed her belly. “I love you,” he murmured. Marinette wasn’t sure if that was only meant for the baby.

* * *

Chat Noir catapulted through the window of his old bedroom and de-transformed.

It seemed only fitting that Adrien face his cold, distant father while he was unspeakably angry. Gabriel always thought Adrien was too emotional and sensitive, so emotional was what he’d get.

Plagg flew in front of his face before he could stalk to the door. “You shouldn’t be doing this by yourself, kid.”

“I’m the only person he’s not going to hurt. If I bring Ladybird or Marinette they’ll be in danger.”

“Are you _sure_ about that?”

“I’m not putting them or Tikki at risk! No, it’s just you and me for this, Plagg.”

“Sugarcube and Marinette are going to be so mad at both of us, you know.” The kwami poked Adrien in the nose. “Transform the second you think you’re in danger, okay? Promise me.”

Adrien couldn’t help but smile at the abrasive way Plagg showed his love. “Promise.”

Plagg dove into his jacket pocked, munched on some cheese, and started purring. The vibrations made Adrien feel more centered.

Adrien waited for his father in the man’s cold, echoing office. He had no idea where Hawk Moth’s lair was in the mansion, but Gabriel spent the bulk of his time in this room.

He knew he was in the right place when a hole opened up in the floor and his father rose into view, back facing him. The man touched the portrait of Adrien’s mom gingerly.

“I’m so sorry, Emilie.”

“You should be.”

Adrien has almost never seen his father get startled. The violent flinch voice said he was downright spooked, Adrien noted with grim satisfaction.

“What are you doing here?” Gabriel demanded. He recovered quickly.

“I know you’re Hawk Moth.”

Gabriel scoffed. “Adrien, don’t be absurd.”

“I know you’re Hawk Moth.”

“Son, who put these wild allegations in your head? I’m your father, Adrien, you cannot believe such things.”

Adrien stalked to his father, got right in his face, and did his best to sneer. “I. Know. You’re. Hawk. Moth.”

Gabriel sighed. “I thought you were past this constant repeating the same thing over and over again. Are you all right?”

He brushed aside the concern. God only knew if it was in the least bit genuine. “I know, _father._ Why?”

They stared each other down. Adrien never liked looking his father in the eyes – the grey was so cold the eye contact made him feel like he was being frozen into rock. But he swore not to break.

Countless heartbeats passed. Gabriel closed his eyes.

“Follow me. You’ll understand.”

He pressed his fingers into Emilie Agreste’s portrait. He pulled Adrien into position just before they descended in an elevator down below the mansion.

Through the glass, Adrien saw an underground lake, massive tree roots spreading into the water. The tree grew into a circular platform with the topmost branches peeking out.

“What is this place?”

Gabriel didn’t respond. Once the elevator stopped, he led Adrien to the garden, to a glass coffin. Inside was his mother.

“Father. What is this?” he grit out.

Gabriel placed his hands on the glass, staring down at Emelie Agreste’s pale, unmoving face. “She’s not dead. She’s asleep; very deeply asleep. Think of it as a curse.”

“What did you do to her?”

“I saved her life!” he snapped. “But nothing short of a miracle will truly bring to back. The ladybug and black cat miraculous, when held by the same wielder, can grant any wish in the universe. It is…the ultimate power.

“It’s the only way to wake her up.” Gabriel finally looked at his son. “You understand now, Adrien. She is why I need the miraculous. Everything I’ve done has been for this family.”

Adrien clenched a fist. “I never asked for this.”

“You miss her as much as I. Don’t pretend.”

“Oh I’m so done pretending,” he shot back sardonically. “I’m done pretending you’re anything like a good parent.”

“How dare you – I’m trying to give you back your mother.”

“But I needed a father. Not a live-in employer moonlighting as my worst enemy.”

Gabriel looked baffled. “You’re worst enemy? You’ve never been akumatized, Adrien. I would never do that to you.”

“You’re wrong on so many counts. Plagg?”

Plagg swirled into existence from Adrien’s pocket. “Ready when you are, Adrien.”

“Claws out.”

Green filled the room. Shock filled his father’s eyes.

Chat Noir quirked the corner of his mouth. “You’ve akumatized me, fought me, beaten me, thrown me off buildings, all before I was seventeen. But all that’s okay as long as it’s a _different_ teenager, right?”

“Adrien.” Gabriel’s voice was very quiet. Dangerously quiet. “Give me your miraculous. Help me bring her back.”

“Is that really what you think mom would want?” Adrien yelled. “This wish has repercussions! If you wish her back to life, someone else will lose theirs – are you willing to risk that being me? Your kid? Or your grandkid? Already you’ve bastardized a superpower, abused a kwami, and traumatized millions of civilians! You akumatized _children!_ The mother I knew would never, _ever_ condone the evil you’ve done. Now on top of it all you’re keeping her trapped, unable to die.”

“Don’t presume to know her better than I. I am preserving her _life_ , Adrien. Sustaining her until I can revive her. Please,” Gabriel held out his hand. “Give me the ring. I know you miss her, too. We can have your mother back.”

Chat Noir glared at the extended limb. “What makes you think she’d be on your side? In your little crusade to bring her back you’ve neglected _me._ I may not have seen her since I was thirteen but I do remember she loved me. She taught me, played with me, comforted me, listened to me when you were too busy to bother. How do you think _my mom_ would react to who you are now?”

“If Emilie will be angry at me, then so be it. But first she needs to wake up.”

“No. Give it to me. With a universe as cruel as this, I think your little plan will mean my child will die, and unlike you, I will do anything for them and that includes cataclysm-ing my own father.”

Gabriel had the audacity to look alarmed. “Adrien…”

“So here’s what will happen. You’ll give me the butterfly and peacock miraculous. I’m going to say goodbye to my mother and give her the rest she deserves, then walk out of here and never speak to you again. You’ll keep your agreement with Marinette but otherwise leave us alone. If you actually believe you love me, you’ll do this.”

The next seconds lasted for centuries. With every passing heartbeat Chat Noir forced himself to look Gabriel in the eyes, fighting down the revulsion and instinct to sprint in the opposite direction.

Despite knowing the man for two and a half decades, his father was the last person he was ever able to easily read, so Adrien didn’t know if the lurch in his chest was surprise when Gabriel unfastened the brooch and gently placed it into his son’s palm. Chat Noir felt something delicate wash over his hand, like Nooroo was sighing in relief. He only looked away from Gabriel to pull the plug on his mom. The lights darkened; her face faded from view. “Goodbye,” he whispered.

“The peacock miraculous is in my safe.”

Chat Noir nodded and bolted for the exit like a scared kitten. Once in Gabriel’s gigantic, echoing office he stared at his mom’s portrait for several minutes, feeling absolutely nothing. Then he swung it open.

“Cataclysm.” The safe collapsed into dust. He took the book and the miraculous and left everything else in that house behind.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotional aftermath.

Chat landed on the first rooftop by his house at the same time Ladybird landed right in front of him. She cocked a hip and crossed her arms. “What the hell Chat Noir? You couldn’t wait ten minutes?”

“I had it handled.”

“You left me alone to take that poor man home! My kwami needed to recharge! You cannot just jump into a supervillain’s lair without backup and Ladybug would – ”

“Ladybug knows where I was,” Chat snapped. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming down. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, he handed over the miraculous.”

Her eyes went wide. “He did? How? Did you ask him nicely?”

He unzipped his pocket and showed her the brooches. She blinked several times. If she or Ladybug had waltzed up to him and done the same thing, he’d be dumbfounded, too. “By threatening him. I have leverage over Gabriel Agreste.”

“Did you find out why he wanted the miraculous?”

“The Ladybug and Black cat can grant a wish if their powers are combined. My – His wife was in a sort of coma. He was going to bring her back to life.” Chat avoided her eyes and slipped the jewels back into his pocket. He felt Ladybird step close to him, scrutinizing his face.

“…Adrien?” He started. “Oh my god, Adrien. This whole time…”

He stepped back. “What gave it away? Who are you?”

“It’s me, dumbass, it’s Alya!”

After everything else, this should not have been the thing that made him bluescreen. He facepalmed. “God, I feel stupid.”

“You were a bit preoccupied with your evil dad and superhero baby mama.”

“I take it Nino is Carapace?”

“Obviously.”

“Obviously.” Chat sighed. “I need to go return these miraculous to the Guardian. Good night.”

“Good night.”

He vaulted over the skyline, letting the chilly air whip away the anger that radiated off his skin.

* * *

Adrien kind of hoped Marinette would be asleep when he got home. She spent a lot more time sleeping since she’d gotten pregnant (apparently baby-making took a lot out of her). He was running on fumes and the last thing he wanted to do was take out his shit on her. But of course she waited up for him. She was in her fluffy bathrobe and pajamas, curled up on the couch, knitting a baby blanket.

She looked up and sighed in relief when she heard his feet hit the floor. “Thank God, you’re home.”

It was like all the strings holding him up had been cut. He called off his transformation, collapsing on the floor at her feet. A few relieved tears trickled down his face. He felt like he could finally taste fresh oxygen after a week of holding his breath.

Marinette seemed to understand he needed a little while to come down. She kept knitting while he rested his head against the couch. His temple brushed against her knee when he breathed.

Adrien’s words, when he finally spoke, caught Marinette off guard.

“Master Fu has the miraculous. But we need to decide if we tell the cops.”

“Tell them about…your dad? So they’ll arrest him?”

“For twelve years of domestic terrorism, yeah.”

Marinette slid a hand over her face. “Can they even do that, are there laws that cover magic? Is there any physical evidence they’d be able to find? And do you think he’s still dangerous without superpowers?”

“Are you defending him?” he demanded.

“No! I’m not defending him, I’m just trying to think of the consequences of turning him in without any hard proof or legal precedent. I’m thinking about a long, public trial that may not end in a conviction. I’m thinking about thousands of people losing their jobs when the brand crashes. I’m thinking about what if the public turns on _you_ because of this. I’m thinking about Hawk Moth’s legacy following us forever.”

Adrien sat down next to her on the couch. “I can’t live under his shadow ever again. In any way. I can’t pretend he isn’t the worst person I’ve ever known.”

Without thinking, he leaned against her shoulder where Marinette was nestled in the cushions. Soft fingers carded through his hair, and this time, Adrien didn’t try to suppress the purr in his chest. He curled up into her and tucked his hands under his chin.

“You don’t _ever_ have to see him again,” she murmured fiercely. She kissed his hair. “I promise.”

He turned to jelly under her touch. As adorable and sweet it’d be if he fell asleep on her like a kitty, and as much as she was loathe to disturb him, Marinette tapped his cheek lightly. “You need your sleep but you should really do that in the bed.”

It was only seven-thirty at night. He hadn’t even eaten dinner. But he showered, brushed his teeth, got into clean pajamas, and by the time he joined Marinette in bed he felt clean and mostly human again.

Too many unsaid words hung in the empty space between them. The only bridge across the tension was Adrien’s hand curled protectively over Marinette’s rounded belly.

* * *

The next morning, the first thing Adrien did was quit his job. He didn’t even care that it left the brand in a lurch. The only leverage Gabriel had over him anymore was the wedding and Marinette’s boutique, but he wouldn’t dare use either. The family’s public image was at stake, and with Adrien no longer working, like hell he would compromise the financial stability of his grandchild by sabotaging his daughter-in-law’s business. They had Gabriel in checkmate.

Gabriel hired a representative to handle his deal with Marinette. She was happy to cease all face-to-face interaction with the man and never acknowledge his existence again.

About two years after moving out, Adrien had come to terms with the fact Gabriel was an awful parent. It was a rough realization at the tender age of nineteen. When he found how warm and loving his friends and their parents were, it crept up on him, ever so slowly, that his father had neglected him. That something was missing in how he’d grown up. He’d seen it on his friends’ faces every time he was bored and alone because Gabriel kept him in the house. He’d felt it when Alya and Nino sat in the bleachers during his fencing matches, Nino cheering him on, Alya holding her phone aloft to film him, both looking every bit like the parents surrounding them in the audience. It’d hit him in the gut when Tom Dupain-Cheng used his work break to play video games with him and Marinette. Adrien told him his father almost never just hung out with him like this. Tom had said, “that’s not right,” and proceeded to teach Adrien how to cook.

By age seventeen, he’d known Nino’s parents’ faces better than his own father’s. So even though he kept modeling throughout university and after graduation, Adrien stopped trying to close the distance between himself and Gabriel. The result? They saw each other about once a month and even that was a generous estimate. The man was almost a stranger.

Adrien and Marinette knew they needed to talk. Adrien didn’t know how to bring it up. Marinette didn’t want to push him. He took everything like a champ but there was so much to process emotionally and it made her concerned about him. He still hadn’t told her _why_ Gabriel Agreste turned to villainy in the first place.

The first and second night she could tell he hadn’t slept well. The third night, she woke to him shaking next to her, and she held him as he broke down completely in her arms, heaving huge sobs and crying himself to sleep.

The fourth day, at around 3pm, somebody knocked on their door. Marinette was still at work and Adrien was in the middle of deep cleaning the kitchen. Behind the door, when he opened it, was Nino. A grin lit up Adrien’s face. He stood aside to let him in. “You just wake up?”

“Yeah, well, late night as the club.” Nino took in the nearly spotless apartment and Adrien, all sweaty in a pair of jogging pants and a t shirt. “Stress cleaning again?”

“Accepting my new role as a homemaker. I’d hug you but I’m pretty gross right now.” Adrien tugged a hoodie over his head. He needed a second layer on if somebody else was in the room; it soothed his nerves, made him feel less exposed.

Nino stood a little awkwardly in the middle of the living room. “Alya told me everything. That is, everything she knows. It fucking sucks about your dad, man.”

Adrien realized how much he needed that. He felt his walls drop.

“I know I said I’m all sweaty and gross, but…” Nino read where he was going and gripped his bro into a tight hug. Adrien squeezed back. It felt like all his organs settled back into place.

He was vulnerable with Nino, but safe. He could trust him.

“You’re not freaking out that I’m Chat Noir?”

“Uh, no. Makes a lot of sense, actually.”

They separated and sat down. “My dad is Hawk Moth.”

“Yeah. That’s rough, buddy.”

“Were you surprised?”

“Yes, of course I was!” Nino declared. “I thought your old man was too passive aggressive.”

“I thought he would never let his akuma victims be caught dead in those costumes,” Adrien replied. Amid all the hurt and anger, that was the only thing that confused him.

“Also never thought he was the power-hungry type. Did you at least find out why he got down in all this shit?”

“To bring back his dead wife. Dying wife. Now she’s dead. I pulled the plug on my mom.”

“Whoa, hey, slow down. Didn’t your mom disappear in a plane crash?”

Adrien snorted derisively. “That’s what he told me and the press. As it turns out, he had her in some kind of magical coma. His plan was to use my miraculous and Ladybug’s to heal her.”

He got no reply except a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He looked at Nino and his expression normally reserved for physics homework. “The ladybug and black cat wielded together grants the holder one wish, but the universe would balance that out with some kind of cost. To bring my mom back to life somebody else would have died.

“So. I took his miraculous and took my mom off her life support. She died right in front of me. She – I already lost her years ago, how am I supposed to lose her again? It almost doesn’t feel real. It feels like letting her go should be harder.”

Nino thought for a while. “You already mourned her. Maybe…maybe you don’t have to do it again.”

Adrien mulled it over. His mom, as far as he’d known, had been dead for twelve years. He never stopped loving her and he never forgot her. Maybe she’d been technically alive, but barring a disastrous miracle she was already gone. Seeing her body trapped like that, in the glass coffin, had felt like a slap in the face.

“I’m glad she’s finally at rest,” he murmured.

“Yeah. It’s your dad’s fault for not letting her go.”

“He loved my mom so much he would have destroyed Paris to get her back. And there he is, out there, still a free man. I’m scared, Nino. He’s _my_ father.”

“Not much of a father – ”

“No, you don’t get it. He’s my _father_! What if I’m the same to my kid was he was to me?” Adrien had no idea that was eating away at him until the words came out of his mouth. He blinked as much from surprise as from relief. “What if his…bullshit follows me forever?”

“You learn to live with it. You learn to separate yourself from it.”

“How?”

“Real talk, I’m gonna tell you a secret nobody but my family knows,” Nino confided. “My mom’s not my mother.”

Adrien furrowed his brows. “Huh?”

Taking a deep breath, Nino continued, “My bio-mom had a drinking problem. When I was four, she caused a car accident that killed three people. The cops would’ve arrested her but she died in the hospital from alcohol poisoning.” He looked at his friend. “You got any idea how much you gotta drink to get alcohol poisoning, let alone _die_ from it? How the fuck did she even get behind the wheel at all?”

Adrien wrapped his arms around his best bud. “I’m so sorry, Nino.”

“Point is that I do get it, man.” Nino shifted so that he had a friendly arm slung around Adrien’s neck. “She sucked. Your old man sucks. So what if the dude’s alive, he’s dead to us. My real mom didn’t give birth to me and now _we’re_ your real family. God, that sounded cheesy.”

Adrien grinned. “Cheese works for you.”

Plagg poked his head out of Adrien’s shirt. “Cheese?”

Nino jolted back with a yelp. “What the – oh, right. Kwami.”

“Seriously, did someone say cheese?”

“There’s camembert in the fridge, Plagg, shove off.”

The kwami did, in fact, shove off, but once he’d gotten himself a wedge of his stinky lunch he kicked the refrigerator door shut and flew straight back to Adrien and Nino.

“Adrien, if that fuck face ever comes near you again, I’ll destroy him. If Marinette doesn’t get to him first.” Then he parked himself on the coffee table and started munching. Nino burst into laughter.

“He’s always like that. Cheese is his one true love, but I swear to God he has the sweetest pet names for Tikki.” A flying TV remote hit Adrien on the forehead.

Nino was still laughing. “Aw, kitty love.” He got hit with a second remote. “I’m just trying to picture Marinette killing somebody and dude, I _can’t_.”

Adrien had never seen Marinette actually attempt murder. Or Ladybug. But god, she had the cutest, scariest, hottest “don’t fuck with me” face he’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. Her eyes narrowed into bright blue laser beams, while a single eyebrow arched up…

Fingers were snapping in front of his face. “Earth to Adrien.”

“How did you know you were in love with Alya?” he asked suddenly.

Nino stared hard at him for a good long while. “You’re kidding me right? You don’t know if you love Marinette? Come on, you proposed to her!”

“The wedding’s a PR stunt,” Adrien said quietly. “And it’s practical for us, to get married.”

Nino didn’t say anything. Adrien looked over and found him scrolling through his phone. “Dude!”

“Hang on a second. Got it. See this picture?” On the screen was their announcement post on Instagram.

“I see it.”

Nino very pointedly held up the phone to his face. He pointed at the photo. “This is not a two people getting into an arranged marriage, Adrien. _This_ is a couple madly in love with each other. I know you have trouble with faces but trust me on this. Marinette’s more gone on you than a rocket flying to Jupiter.”

The words brought hope up in Adrien, hope that he could have that one last thing missing from their relationship. It felt like being tossed around by the ocean.

“I knew I was in love,” Nino continued, “when Alya was on that week-long trip to see her grandparents. I didn’t find any bras lying around my room for the first time in months, and you know what? I missed it. That’s how I knew.” He gazed at the photo of Alya laughing on his lock screen.

Adrien tried to imagine never getting stabbed by a stray sewing pin again. All that came to mind was an empty apartment.

* * *

Life continued for Marinette and Adrien. They’d touched, and spoken, and woken up with their limbs tangled together. But they hadn’t kissed, had sex, fallen asleep cuddling, or even flirted since that last akuma attack. Since everything had come out in the open. They didn’t so much as brush the hair out of the other’s eyes for two weeks and the careful distance was driving Adrien and Marinette completely nuts.

They knew they needed to talk about _them_. Both feared that if they broke the silence, then everything would break.

The pieces came together in Adrien’s mind over the two weeks of circling each other. Ladybug, Marinette. Marinette, Ladybug. Maribug. He laughed a little at the thought. A thousand images of two girls came together and fit like puzzle pieces into one, whole woman. Adrien had thought he’d been in love twice in his life. No. He fell for her once, then kept falling.

Marinette had a harder time. She suspected she had months of suddenly realizing that something specific Chat Noir did was Adrien, and vice versa, ahead of her. She screamed into her pillow when she realized _Adrien_ was her first two unofficial kisses back in high school. _Adrien_ posed like a French girl in the middle of a battle to drop a line on her. _Chat Noir_ had evaded screaming fans for an entire afternoon with Marinette in tow. _Chat Noir_ had shamelessly cleaned out all his friends playing poker (the model face was not fair) and then, victory secured, given back every single euro.

God, she’d ridden Chat Noir into the mattress and sucked his cock. In that order.

She’d hung Adrien upside down by the ankle, usually over a lamppost, at least a dozen times.

Of course, there was the autism. That, in particular, made her feel stupid because they had the _exact_ same stims. He chewed on his tongue, his pens, his fingers – he jumped into snow just to hear it crunch under his feet – he did the weird rolling his head into his shoulders thing that left him with a satisfied look – he rubbed the grooves of his ring with his thumb – he even hummed the same repetitive tune when he was thinking. What were the odds she had two blonde, green eyed, autistic friends the same age and height with the exact same stimming repertoire?

In Marinette’s defense, Adrien’s attitude did a one-eighty when he transformed. He went from reserved and polite to outgoing and witty. What the fuck.

Three weeks before the wedding, he was out as Chat Noir taking a run. He’d explained that jumping about the Paris rooftops at night made him feel freer than anything else in his life. As Marinette waited for him to come home, feet propped up on the coffee table and sketchbook in her lap, she wished Ladybug could join her kitty.

An odd tickling sensation appeared in her lower abdomen. Marinette froze. There it was again: a soft, feathery, fluttery feeling right where she knew the baby was.

She jumped to her feet, brimming with excitement. She pulled on a jacket and rushed to the balcony, hoping that he’d come back soon. She felt their baby moving!

A slight, dark figure did a graceful somersault mid-air a few buildings away. He vaulted to the next rooftop, coming closer, but goddammit, not fast enough. Marinette pulled out her cell phone and turned the flashlight on and off, pointing in the cat’s general direction. The blinking must have caught his attention because he started zig-zagging towards her. He landed right in front of her on the balcony railing, perched in a cat crouch.

“What is it? Did something happen?”

Marinette grabbed his shoulders excitedly. “I felt the baby kick! It was subtle, not even a kick really, but they moved!”

His cat eyes looked ready to pop out of his skull. "What did feel like?"

“Like,” she giggled, “like little butterflies inside me.”

Chat Noir leapt down and knelt in front of her. He caressed the baby bump, staring intently, like if he just looked long enough he’d see the little one wiggling around in there. Abject adoration filled his gaze. The moment was so tender, Marinette didn’t want to disrupt it. But they were going to be _parents_. She couldn’t take it anymore; they needed to get on the same page. No matter how much it could hurt.

She whispered, “You said I was your girlfriend.”

“What? When?”

“You told me - Ladybug-me - that your girlfriend was having a baby.”

“Oh. Oh. Um.” He hopped back onto the balcony railing. “It was just simpler. I didn’t want to try explaining our whole relationship to...well, you, I guess.”

“So you decided to lie?”

“An identity-related white lie.”

“That’s hardly a major clue, Chat. Did you think I would judge you or something?”

“Maybe? I don’t know!”

“Are you ashamed of what we’ve been doing?”

“No! I didn’t want to explain because I don’t understand our relationship!”

Marinette said nothing. Chat’s heart was beating like a drum in his chest. He plucked up the courage to continue. “Look, it’s...it’s selfish. But I’m in love with you – ”

“Now that you know I’m Ladybug?”

“No, before that.”

“Did you ever really move on from Ladybug?”

“...you are Ladybug.”

“What about me? Marinette. Your dorky friend without the powers and the mask and the gymnastics?”

“Yes, you. Can I please finish?”

She breathed. She made a go ahead gesture.

“When I told you as Ladybug about the baby I didn’t know I’d fallen in love with you yet. I had no idea what I felt. But at some point, in the last few months or the last few years...I fell in love with you. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to lose what we already have. Everything’s more complicated now with the baby and my father and the wedding. I figured I’d just take what I could get.”

“I know the feeling.”

“You do?”

“Did you know I had the biggest crush on you before Luka and I got together?”

He almost fell off the railing. “Really?”

“I guess I know why you were so oblivious now.”

“Hey, you denied it to my face.”

“No, no, I get it. But once I accepted you didn’t have those feelings for me, I couldn’t push you away by admitting them because you became my friend. And that was everything. But this time...why do you think I won’t love you back?”

“Because you said you don’t want a relationship. That it’s too soon after Luka.”

“Oh,” she breathed. “Well, um, I don’t think I could start over.” He began to wilt. “But with us, you and me, it’s not exactly starting over, is it? I think we skipped a few steps.”

To accentuate her point, Marinette took Chat’s hand and placed it low on her belly. He spread out his fingers.

“I love you,” Marinette said softly. “I want all of you, if you’ll have me.”

Clawed hands held her face and pulled her in for a kiss that burst her heart into flames.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If the whole world came crashing down during their wedding, neither Marinette nor Adrien would have noticed.

There was a package on the doorstep. Marinette carefully kneeled down to pick it up, her back aching a bit from the strain. For a moment she just stared in shock at the sender’s address.

_Chloe Bourgeois_

She opened her apartment door. “Adrien!”

Her fiancé bolted from the kitchen into the entryway. “What is it? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but – um – ” Marinette helplessly held out the box by way of explanation. He took it, mouth falling open as he read the name printed on the top left corner.

Adrien cut the tape with a pocket knife and cautiously lifted the flaps. Inside was another box, professionally gift-wrapped with shiny pink paper and gold ribbon. On top was a card.

“She sent us a gift?” Marinette muttered, sounding perplexed. “Is this a joke?”

Still silent, Adrien picked up the card, sliced open the envelop, and pulled it out to read it. It was made of heavy white cardstock and the front was embossed with loopy, metallic lettering that said, ‘ _Congratulations on your new baby!’_ He opened the card. Something flat and black slid out from inside, and he caught it before it could hit the floor. “It’s a gift card.”

“A what?” Marinette took it and examined it closely. “Two thousand euros? For maternity clothes?”

“I don’t think it’s a joke.” In Chloe’s barely legible handwriting, he read:

_I had this custom made with the softest fabric money can buy. If your baby is anything like you, Adrien, it’ll want to rub its face into something this soft._

_Marinette, a baby bump is no excuse to look frumpy._

_I’m sorry. Congratulations to both of you._

He handed it to Marinette. She rolled her eyes while she read, then her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. “Wow,” she murmured.

“Wow.” Adrien agreed. Before he could make a move, Marinette snatched the present from the box, ripping apart the elegant wrapping paper with some vindictive satisfaction. “What do you think she bought?”

“Let’s find out.” Gold ribbon fluttered to the floor while Marinette opened the white box. Inside was a golden teddy bear. When she picked it up the fur was so soft, it felt like water under her fingertips. The color was so pristinely golden, she seriously wondered if actual gold was somehow spun into the fabric.

Marinette stared at the toy in her hands, at a complete loss for words. After a while, a giggle escaped her throat. Before she knew what was happening, she started laughing hysterically. “Chloe Bourgeois bought our baby a teddy bear!” When Adrien picked it up and immediately rubbed the stuffed animal’s unearthly soft fur against _his own_ face, Marinette laughed even harder.

* * *

A few days before the wedding Marinette was scrambling to get her dress adjusted. The waist was too big.

Adrien would have been a better assistant, experienced as he was with clothing, but she adamantly refused to let him see the dress before the wedding day. So Alya was her extra pair of hands as they carefully took her measurements again, adjusted the dress form, and

Alya found the whole thing insufferably funny. “How is it you’re pregnant but the dress you made is too _big_?”

“My mom was bigger than this at twenty weeks when she was pregnant with me. So was my Nona. Besides, it’s easier to take in a dress than to let it out.”

“I’m glad you have a place for all this nervous energy to go, at least.”

Marinette looked at her with a mouthful of pins. “Nervous? What nervous, I’m not nervous!”

Tikki zipped to the dress form. “Of course not Marinette, you’re excited! You’re marrying Adrien in a couple of days! You’ve both waited for this moment for so long!”

Alya smiled at the way Marinette’s everything went pink. She shook her head. “I keep forgetting that Chat Noir got you pregnant.”

If possible, Marinette flushed even more. “He keeps calling the baby _kitten_.” Alya laughed out loud.

She had some trouble sleeping the night before the wedding. Every time she thought about it she squealed and giggled in bed like she was thirteen again. It didn’t help that the baby was already an active child. Especially at night. They stilled during the day, like they’d fallen asleep, and then woke up to do yoga in the middle of the night. It didn’t hurt, not yet, but Marinette could feel every wiggly movement. She stroked her belly where the little one was squirming, wondering if they were feeding off her own excitement.

* * *

Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, and Adrien felt like he was going to vibrate right out of his suit. The ceremony was due to start any minute now. He hadn’t seen Marinette since the day before yesterday, in-keeping with the tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding. After fighting magical supervillains for the better part of their lives, they felt justified in being a little superstitious. Nino stood beside him in a navy blue suit. Adrien drew some comfort from the familiarity of wearing all black.

The church had been beautifully decorated. Bouquets of ferns and pink roses draped from every available surface. Late afternoon sunlight bathed the sanctuary through the stained-glass windows.

He watched in a jittery daze as the bridesmaids strolled down the aisle.

Then the doors opened for Marinette.

She looked…she looked…

…ethereal.

Pink floral embroidery climbed her white skirts from the hem to her waist. Her baby bump was visible, not hidden nor flaunted. More soft pink accents graced her long sleeves and sweetheart neckline. An elegant gold tiara sat on her head, contrasting brightly with her midnight hair falling in subtle waves over her shoulders.

Adrien didn’t hear the music. He didn’t see the audience. His whole attention was captivated by his family walking toward him. He felt absurdly happy that Marinette wasn’t wearing a veil so he could see her face.

After an eternity that lasted no time at all, she came close enough to reach out for his hand. He instinctively pressed her fingers to his lips. She grinned at him. He smiled back. Hand-in-hand, they faced each other as the music quietened, the audience sat down, and the minister began to speak. Neither bride nor groom, lost in each other’s eyes, registered a word he said until the critical question

“Do you have your vows?”

Marinette took a deep breath and unfolded the notepaper she’d kept in a discreet pocket in her dress. Her heart pounded as she began to read. “Not many girls get to say they married their high school crush. When we were thirteen I would have done anything to ensure this moment. Despite the wait, though, I wouldn’t change a thing about how we got here.

“Minou, I may have had a crush on you, but you made me love you as my friend and my partner in crime. My only regret is once taking you for granted. Our relationship has...changed so many times over the years. You have always been vital to my life - I need you like the earth needs rain. You keep me strong, Adrien, and I vow to spend the rest of my life doing the same for you.”

Once she finished, Adrien took out his own vows with trembling fingers. “All these years you’ve been a constant in my life and kept me grounded. Your support makes me able to land on my feet every time.” He winked at her and she suppressed a giggle. “You’re my lucky charm, Princess. I cannot believe I have the privilege of marrying my best friend in the entire world. I love you so much it hurts sometimes, and I swear to you today that, no matter what the world will throw at us, I’ll stand by your side until the very end.”

“With the power vested in me by God and the country of France, I pronounce this couple husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Adrien wasn’t able to kiss the bride, because she grabbed his face and kissed him first.

* * *

“Well, so far I quite like how our honeymoon is going.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re not the one getting all sticky.”

He gave her his most Chat Noir smirk. “Not yet, at least.”

That shocked a laugh out of her. Marinette shoved her husband’s head away from her, the movement crinkling the paper of the hospital bed. “Adrien! That’s so gross.” Her cheeks were pink.

“I’ve heard worse during these appointments,” the obstetrician said. “Try to keep still for me now.” She moved the wand over Marinette’s taught belly, slick with cool gel.

The baby’s heartbeat filled the room. No matter how many times he heard it, the sound made Adrien want to cry and flap his hands excitedly. As it was, his leg bounced so much it was probably generating its own sonic waves.

The doctor informed them the baby was healthy and developing well.

“Do you want to know the sex?”

The newlyweds nodded vigorously. Marinette clutched Adrien’s hand tight.

“Congratulations. It’s a girl.”

**Author's Note:**

> To my understanding, it is legal in France to get an abortion up until the 12 week mark.  
> Any and all pro-life comments will be deleted. I’m trying to tell a story and won’t engage in debate.  
> Adrien DOES know that babies don’t come out of buttholes.  
> Pregnancy tests work by detecting levels of HCG in your urine or blood, which is a hormone normally only present during pregnancy. False positives rarely ever happen because the tests can't detect a hormone that isn't there. IF a false positive happens then it’s indicative of a major health issue such as ovarian cancer.


End file.
